Cunliffe David: Employment Relations Amendment Bill — In Committee Recommittal Third Reading 
Cunliffe David: Employment Relations Amendment Bill — In Committee Recommittal Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:458] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
: 
 To quote a distinguished member of this House it is an absolute privilege to be part of this parliamentary process and a huge responsibility. It is just unfortunate that it is a bit more of a responsibility than usual because we do not have a select committee process for the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. Like my colleagues I ask myself what is so urgent about this bill that we have set aside the normal constitutional processes that colleagues ostensibly hold dear. We could call this bill the “Goodbye to Diversity Bill”. It rather sticks in my craw that Mr Bakshi the poster boy for the Sikh community’s new-found love affair with the National Party is going to be voting for it. What if someone with a turban does not meet the cultural predilections of their employer? It will be: “Goodbye! Hasta la vista! You’re gone!” and no questions asked. 
At the moment in the existing law there are grounds for termination of employment provided that they are fair and subject to due process. It is not like one cannot fire someone. It is not like there are no protections for employers. This bill makes it perfectly all right for a sexual predator to dismiss a young female employee who decides she does not want his advances. So will we call this the “Protection for Predators Bill”? This bill is insane. It is unethical and it is immoral and if this is part of the new Government’s arsenal then I would not want to look too closely at the rest of it. 
It is a matter of deep regret that this “Goodbye to Diversity Bill”— 
Amy Adams 
: Aw! 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Well the member from the Canterbury Plains may not be big on diversity. She may think that everybody sits behind a tractor or a haystack. Guess what? I came from the Canterbury Plains way back too so I understand. Diversity in Canterbury when I was growing up was when the Catholics played on the back line of the local rugby team and the Protestants were in the forward pack. That was what diversity meant to us. We thought multiculturalism was a joint social between the two youth groups. That is the perspective of that member. I say to members that the War of the Roses is over and now modern diversity— 
Nikki Kaye 
: Come on read the bill. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: There is Nikki Kaye whose main claim to fame is doing a lot of door-knocking in Auckland Central. Well good on her; it is good to see hard work. But Nikki Kaye will have to answer to the multicultural electorate of Auckland Central about why she has put the predilections of predators ahead of the human rights of new New Zealanders. 
What about migrants? What about people who are a little bit different? What about people of different religions? How will the Exclusive Brethren feel about hiring a Hindu? They are not known for their religious tolerance are they? They do not even take on the non - Exclusive Brethren. They do not even have a window in their meeting houses in case they see the polluting outside world. How will they feel if someone like dear Mr Bakshi rocks up and asks to work in their small business? Perhaps they will not treat such a person as well as they could do and this bill gives them licence for this. It is reprehensible it is disgusting—disgusting that we are rolling back human rights in the first week of this pathetic excuse for a Government. It is absolutely disgusting. 
What about the “This Bill Substitutes for an Economic Strategy Bill” for a title? I ask members opposite where the strategy is. What have they done to turbocharge our economy in their first week on the job? Let us think about that. They have just nixed the incentive for innovation. They have just undercut the best savings vehicle New Zealand has ever had since Muldoon canned the last one and now they are topping it off by making labour markets more sticky. What do we mean by sticky labour markets? The Government has talked about making it easier for employers to hire and fire and it has put up the argument that some employers have been reluctant to take on new people. Well that is very unlikely to be the case because employers are driven by their business needs not by some sort of employment programme.