Blue Jackie: Minimum Wage and Remuneration Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Blue Jackie: Minimum Wage and Remuneration Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:652;Page:1676] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I take great pleasure in rising to speak to Part 1 of the Minimum Wage and Remuneration Amendment Bill a member’s bill in the name of Darien Fenton. National will be opposing the Committee stage of this bill which of course includes Part 1. I note that there have been changes—in fact extensive changes—to the original bill as tabled in 2006 in the last Parliament including changes to Part 1. Three successive Supplementary Order Papers have been tabled which hardly inspires the view that the bill was originally drafted in a very robust way at all. 
The purpose of this bill as introduced was to amend the Minimum Wage Act 1983 by extending its provisions to apply to payments under a contract for services that are currently remunerated at a level below the minimum wage. I was not a member of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee which heard the bill in the last Parliament. When I read the select committee’s report it was evident to me that there was no clear consensus and that members were unable to reach agreement on the purpose of this bill. The purpose as stated in Part 1 is still the subject of amendments in the recently tabled Supplementary Order Paper 4. 
The select committee received 28 submissions from interested groups and individuals and heard 14 submissions. This included commentary on the purpose of the bill. This bill was well scrutinised by the select committee and came back with the recommendation that it should not go ahead. That is the right decision. 
The make-up of the select committee included MPs from Labour and National and one New Zealand First MP. The select committee report as such comprised three different views from each party. There was no consensus and no common ground and for the bill to have stalled at this stage with not a shred of common ground means that it was deeply flawed to begin with. That is the only conclusion I can reach from reading the report. Even the New Zealand First member did not agree with the purpose of the bill. That party’s view in the select committee report stated: “… the bill creates too many administrative grey areas which would have the potential to lead to confusion.” The last thing this Parliament should do is to pass unnecessary and confusing legislation for the sake of passing legislation. 
I note that in an amendment to Part 1 in Supplementary Order Paper 4 which was tabled only yesterday—3 March—the commencement date has been amended to 1 April 2009. That is very wishful thinking indeed. 
The Government will be opposing this bill. We do not see it as being helpful in the current economic situation and it is so flawed that even at the select committee level no common ground could be found. There have been numerous amendments including those noted to the commencement date and the purpose of the bill in Part 1. National remains concerned about this bill on a number of different levels. We are not convinced there is a need for this legislation and we also believe it would create substantial problems through its implementation. The Supplementary Order Paper that was introduced yesterday which amended Part 1 as well as other parts was in essence a complete rewrite of the original bill which does not give any confidence in the robustness of the bill at all. 
As well as the changes to Part 1 I note that the bill has been amended to include a provision that would see the minimum wage rise to $13 this year to $14 next year and to $15 the year after. There is a certain irony here. Labour’s record on the minimum wage is inconsistent. Before the election its policy related to average wages and average prices. Now Labour members want to raise the minimum wage to $15. We are in unprecedented tough times. They knew that this was unaffordable policy and that it would ultimately cost New Zealanders their jobs and it negates the purpose as set out in Part 1. 
On 1 April this Government will be increasing the minimum wage from $12 an hour to $12.50 in line with the Consumers Price Index. The minimum wages for those in training and for new entrants will increase also from $9.60 an hour to $10. The Government felt that in the current recession when it needed to find a balance between protecting jobs and ensuring fair pay to workers that was the right thing to do. We found a balance. The Government does not want to see workers priced out of the market during these difficult times but it is confident that the increase in line with inflation will not harm businesses. We will not be supporting Part 1.