Sabin Mike: Health and Safety Reform Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSabin Mike: Health and Safety Reform Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 13 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16709. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MIKE SABIN (National—Northland):I am still quite confused as to whether the member Darien Fenton is actually supporting the Health and Safety Reform Bill or not.Grant Robertson: Oh for goodness’ sake! It’s the first thing she said. Listen. Open your ears.MIKE SABIN: It may have been the first thing she said Grant Robertson but everything else she said after that was entirely critical very negative and hardly forward-thinking but that is what we have come to expect from the Labour Party. I very much look forward to the member’s contribution in the select committee process that follows.This is a very very important piece of legislation and it is part of a much broader area of reform in the labour and industrial relations space. I just want to acknowledge the leadership of the Minister of Labour the Hon Simon Bridges for his work in this area because it has been informed—Hon Trevor Mallard: He’s gone past Judith Collins on IPredict.MIKE SABIN: It is amazing when David Cunliffe is away how much Trevor Mallard wants to play. I am sure other members in this House have noticed. Do not worry Trevor. You have not got too much longer to wait before he is out on his bike and you can regain your rightful place as the centre of obstruction in this Parliament. As I said this is part of a larger—Hon Trevor Mallard: Talk about Simon O’Connor again. Simon—what’s his name? Simon Bridges.MIKE SABIN: If the member wants to actually quieten down for a minute and listen to what this bill is about it is an important piece of legislation Mr Mallard. It is an important piece of legislation. It is part of a broader suite of reforms. Its genesis lies in the report of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety and of course the tragedy of the Pike River disaster and the lessons that we are still learning from that.This bill will give effect to an entirely different regulatory regime and approach: the relationship that must be well established in a workplace to ensure health and safety and productivity are achieved; the relationship between employees employers and the Government and the legislative platform on which that operates; and the importance I guess of reflecting the dynamic nature of the New Zealand workplace the ways in which this has altered over time and the fact that there are many workplaces that operate in a manner that presents risk. There are many employers who have struggled in some ways with the challenges and the changes in the New Zealand workplace. There is a need for the requisite messages penalties and regime to be in place to set up the platform upon which they must operate.On the other side of the coin there is the importance of the employee being engaged in health and safety in their workplace. It is not solely the responsibility of the employer or the Government. It is certainly an area in which when all of the parties come to the table I think we can expect far greater outcomes in terms of safety and indeed in terms of productivity. There is a reciprocal relationship between the two. There cannot be productivity without safety. When safety is jeopardised not only are the life and health and safety of the individual compromised but ultimately so is productivity. Everyone wins when we get the balance right and when we set the appropriate framework. This is what the bill is essentially looking to do: to marry these together and learn from the lessons of the royal commission and Independent Taskforce on Workforce Health and Safety reports to ensure that the modern working environment and those who are participating in that working environment—be they employees or be they contractors—meet with employers’ and the Government’s expectations around health and safety.I think it is important to point out that the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee took a very collegial approach and learnt a lot in considering the legislation that resulted from the Pike River tragedy. I think it is going to be very important through this process that the committee gets to hear from stakeholders from right across the spectrum in terms of the role that this legislation will play in their workplaces moving forward. I certainly want to encourage those stakeholders to come forward and make submissions and engage in this process. This is really a landmark piece of legislation. Although part of a broader reform this really is the nuts and bolts; it is the glue that is going to bring it all together. I recommend stakeholders out there engage in the process. Although I talk with my colleague Darien Fenton and we do jest I know that this committee will work in a collegial fashion to ensure that the very best legislation is afforded to the New Zealand workplace. I very much commend this bill to the House and thank the Minister for his work on it.