Turia Tariana: Energy Safety Review Bill — Second Reading 
Turia Tariana: Energy Safety Review Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:635;Page:6604] 
TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tena tatou te Whare. The value of the democratic process is in letting the people have a say—hearing the voices of the voiceless and providing an opportunity for their korero to be heard. So it was that at the first reading of the Energy Safety Review Bill we supported the bill going through to the Commerce Committee to enable the democratic process to proceed. 
One by one the submissions to the select committee raised concerns and issues that we have found of great interest in our further deliberations. We noted that the members of the New Zealand Electrical Institute opposed the bill concluding that it was neither practical nor effective for workers as it revamps a regulatory regime that is already sufficient. The Wellington and Southland branches of the New Zealand Electrical Institute considered that the changes are not necessary as any improvements that were needed have been made by regulation over the last 10 years. We also read with interest the views of the Electrical Safety Organisation in supporting the inclusion of section 80 “Testing certification and inspection” in new Part 9 inserted by clause 12. We have considered those issues in our further analysis of the bill and we want to say right from the outset that we believe that public and worker safety is of the utmost importance. Our voting in support of this bill recognises the need for improvements in the electrical safety regime and in the occupational regulation of electricity workers. 
But there are wider issues that we believe should be usefully addressed in the further stages of this bill. Electricity work is a career option. As a starting point we want to ensure that the status and professionalism of electricity workers are guaranteed. The Maori Party believes that in a buoyant economy we should expect more people to benefit from employment opportunities. In the 1980s the ruthless economic restructuring driven through by Labour increased Maori unemployment to record levels. The damage caused in the 1980s has left a lasting impact with the latest household labour force survey showing that the unemployment rate of 8 percent for Maori is still more than twice the national rate of 3.8 percent. 
The Maori Party believes that a responsible Government must target the workforce response in order to meet demand. To that end the fact that electricians are listed in the 16 trade areas described as suffering from acute skill shortages must surely make that occupation a priority. Furthermore in the Department of Labour’s current list of 57 priority occupations for immigration purposes electricians are included as one of the two traditional trades. Our research also tells us that at the 2001 census 651 Maori were working as electricians constituting about 6.5 percent of the total number yet that workforce makes up less than 0.5 percent of the employed Maori population. So there is plenty of scope for Maori to be recruited into this area of acute skill shortage—for tangata whenua to be enticed into taking up a priority occupation before we start looking offshore and making up immigration quotas as we have been doing in this particular trade for the last 26-odd years. 
The Maori Party has raised the issue in this House before of the value of the trade training schemes that used to be an accepted career pathway for many of our rangatahi. In doing research for this bill I came across the  
Auckland Star 
 of 1965. The paper featured the spectacular achievements of a Ngapuhi boy Eric Beazley from Rawene who had gained top marks—96 percent—in the practical section of the electricians registration board examinations. That outstanding achievement had won him a gold medal award from the British cable manufacturers association. Eric had taken up an apprenticeship in 1963 as an electrical trainee at the Auckland Technical Institute under the trade training scheme conducted by the Department of Maori Affairs. It made me think how important those types of schemes have been in creating a desperately needed workforce for this nation. 
This bill is meant to be focused on the needs of that workforce. It includes mechanisms that are meant to ensure the public of worker competence and to encourage us to believe that electricity supply systems will not be put at risk. But when I think about what will really change for electricians electrical service technicians line mechanics inspectors electronic security installers and workers in the other classes of electrical work I am not convinced of that. One of the key issues that came up again and again during the select committee process was that the current registration and licensing system should be retained. We support the recommendation from the select committee that the registration and licensing system that currently operates should be retained. We are influenced by the committee’s advice that the proposed change does not clarify the competency of workers to consumers and that it also undermines the workers’ belief that registration is the apex of their qualifications. 
On that matter the issue of accountability and transparency we were very interested in the submission from the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union where Paul Tolich described how workers do not have faith in allowing companies to self-regulate. He talked also about the risk that the skills shortages that I referred to earlier may mean that employers may use less trained and experienced people thereby placing other workers and the public at risk. The Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union does not support the proposal for the board to issue employer licences whereby employers can hold practising licences believing that this will compromise both workers and the public. The Maori Party absolutely agrees with the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union that it is vital that those employed are highly trained people whom their fellow workers can rely on. We know that it gives workers confidence to know that their colleagues are being properly trained and hold a practising licence rather than the licence being held by the employer. In recognition of the importance of those very concerns the Maori Party will be introducing a Supplementary Order Paper in the Committee stage of this bill seeking to remove the proposals for companies to self-regulate. 
The Maori Party certainly supports the recommendation from the select committee that the Electrical Workers Licensing Board must be guided by principles of public safety. We also support the commitment to prevent undue costs being passed on to electricians and/or the public. We believe we must do everything possible to uphold public and workers’ safety. The risk of danger being created through enlisting laypersons as electrical workers is too high and we do not support any moves that would threaten safety. But we are equally of the view that increased competency testing is an unnecessary expense for workers. Where there are increased compliance costs for workers and businesses we can be sure that those costs will be passed on at least in part to consumers. 
Finally I say that today my office made contact with the son of Eric Beazley the winner of the gold medal award from the British cable manufacturers association. Eric Beazley Jnr the son confirmed for the information of the House that his father still lives in Rawene and that the story of the gold medal award is frequently told. Through mud through ice and through wind and storm the story of Eric the sparky captivates the excitement of all the whanau from Rawene and beyond there. Members of the whanau light up when talking of Eric and talking about that gold medal award still gives them a charge. The Maori Party also celebrates that success and believes that that commitment and excellence is something for all of us to learn from. We hope that the Energy Safety Review Bill will build on that success. Tena tatou katoa.