Moroney Sue: Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMoroney Sue: Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 27 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11387. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SUE MORONEY (Labour):Can I also start my contribution to the debate on this bill the Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill by acknowledging the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine tragedy and their families. They suffered from losing one of the most fundamental rights at work: the fundamental right to walk out the door in the morning go to work do your job and return home safely to your loved ones. Sadly for far too many New Zealand workers including the 29 at Pike River mine that has not happened. The fact that that has not happened is a blight on our country and on our country’s laws and that is what we are attempting to resolve today.But can I say at the outset that yes we have learnt a lesson. Can we please never ever forget it? History is sometimes there to repeat itself and this is one piece of history that must never repeat itself. We must never have to relearn the lesson about deregulation of the workforce and in the workplace and the tragedies that it actuallyleads to because to me that is the lesson of Pike River mine and other tragedies. They were not things that were accidents. They did not just happen. They were designed to happen and they happened through poor design. That is what the royal commission told us. We must never unlearn that lesson again.In a decade’s time I do not want to ever hear any parliamentarian in this House argue for deregulation in the workplace because today we are accepting right across parties I think unanimously in the House that deregulation risks health and safety for workers. I expect that if everyone is genuine about their commitments to this debate they are accepting that premise. If they are accepting that premise then can I say to the Government that it cannot happen in isolation. It is not just one bill that needs to accept that reality. It is in fact all of the employment legislation before this House that needs to understand that reality. To accept just in this bill and not in others that deregulation risks workers’ health and safety is to pay lip-service to learning the lessons of the Pike River mine tragedy and other tragedies.I say this because earlier today I was on the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and we were debating and discussing another piece of legislation before the House on employment rights. That piece of legislation does further deregulate the workplace.Mike Sabin: No it’s not this bill.SUE MORONEY: It is not this bill and that is my point Mr Sabin. It is not OK to recognise that deregulation is a bad thing just when it comes to this bill. It actually needs to be right across the board because the bill Mr Sabin that we were discussing actually reduces workers’ rights to—Mike Sabin: Yeah it’s not this bill—that’s my point.SUE MORONEY: My point Mr Sabin is that it actually reduces workers’ rights to having a lunch break and rest periods. That is a fundamental health and safety issue. That the members opposite do not seem to get that gives me no comfort because they can pass this bill and think they have done their job but if they continue to deregulate other parts of the workplace they are not honouring—they are not honouring—the lesson that needs to be learnt from Pike River mine and those other tragedies. They need to be serious about this not just with this piece of legislation but with every single piece of legislation that they currently have before this Parliament that attempts to deregulate the workplace. I am proud to stand and support this bill and I urge the Government to take this issue seriously with regard to other pieces of legislation.