Sepuloni Carmel: Social Security (Commencement of Benefits) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSepuloni Carmel: Social Security (Commencement of Benefits) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 17 November 2015. Volume:710;Page:8150. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour—Kelston): I would like to first point out that we have made an attempt to work with the Government on some changes here. We were disappointed in September when we realised that the Government was planning to retrospectively change the law in relation to the issue of historical underpayment of welfare entitlements via the Social Security (Extension of Young Persons Services and Remedial Matters) Amendment Bill. That issue was not fit to be in that bill. Concerns were raised with us by beneficiary advocates about the fact that they felt it had been hidden in there as a way to disguise what the Government was attempting to do.Since we did write to the Minister for Social Development in September after realising that that clause was in that piece of legislation there have been conversations and letters backwards and forwards between us and the Government about what changes it has been planning. There are some elements of what it is attempting to do that we would say are better than what it had originally planned but there is one major element to this piece of legislation that we cannot support and I will go into that in detail shortly.The exchange between us and the Government has been going on since September. On 15 October I met with Minister Anne Tolley and she showed me a draft of the bill. Not long after that I wrote to the Minister and highlighted our concern that if the bill was put through under urgency there was no application period for those who had been underpaid from 3 June 1998 to 20 May 2014. This bill does take into consideration those who have been underpaid since May 2014 to September 2015 because the Government recognises that it was aware of the technical error and so feels that those people should have the right to be able to make an application or a claim so a window of opportunity has been provided for them. But there is no window of opportunity for all of those people from 1998 to May 2014 to be able to have that same window of opportunity to make a claim. I just saw a National MP shaking their head like: “That is unnecessary.” Actually it is necessary to provide people with that natural justice. The Government says it is a technical error but we in this House know and everyone out there across New Zealand knows that when money is owed to the Government it is chased relentlessly. The point here is that actually when the shoe is on the other foot the same thing—natural justice—should prevail.I want to give a recent example where the shoe was on the other foot and the Government was seen to chase New Zealanders relentlessly for cash and that is in respect of the Novopay disaster. Only a week ago we saw in the media that the Government has now moved to get debt collectors involved in chasing up the $1.8 million from almost 2000 school staff who were overpaid by Novopay. The education sector was put through hell with the Government’s botched-up Novopay debacle. Some were overpaid some were underpaid—some were underpaid for months.Peeni Henare: Some weren’t paid.CARMEL SEPULONI: Yes. Of those who were overpaid more than 80 percent of them have repaid that debt but in this instance because it was money owed to the Government the Government has demanded that that money be paid back. The shoe in respect of this issue that we are talking about today is on the other foot.There are a number of people out there who justifiably should have the right to make a claim. It has been brought up that there would be thousands of people who would be entitled to make a claim. The chances are—from the conversations I have had with people—many people would not actually put in a claim. It might be 1 day over the last 17 years that they are entitled to but there are certain pockets certain workforces where actually there could be something significant that was lost here. We have been talking to our teacher-aides teacher assistants some of whom go in and out of employment four times a year some of whom have stand-down periods for benefits four times a year and some of whom have been providing that teacher-aide service and working in our schools for several years not just 1 year. We respect the job that those people do and believe that they should have a window of opportunity to make a claim. Other workers that we have had discussions with include seasonal workers who are in and out of work and on to benefits with stand-down periods. They should have the right to make a claim. People who are in and out of temporary work should have the right to make a claim.We know that many people would not take up the opportunity to make a claim but natural justice should prevail and they should be given that opportunity. We have put up Supplementary Order Paper 142 which we think is a fair compromise here. That would provide a small window of opportunity for people to be able to make that claim as we have suggested should be done. The Supplementary Order Paper that I have put up delays the commencement of this bill for 6 weeks so that there is that window of opportunity for those who are underpaid by a day or more depending on how many times they were stood down between 1998 and May 2014 to put in that claim.We do not think it is asking too much. We think fair is fair. We know that when money is owed to the Government it is chased up relentlessly. When the Government owes people money it should not have the right just to retrospectively change the legislation so that it takes away the right of New Zealand citizens to make a claim. We are pushing hard for that amendment and asking that the Minister and the National Government consider supporting that Supplementary Order Paper that would delay the commencement date of the bill to enable people to have a window of opportunity to make a claim. Jono Naylor is laughing. I do not actually think it is a funny matter Jono Naylor.We have had a few other issues highlighted in the media recently that really do show up the hypocrisy of the National Government in respect of this issue.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): No that is not a word that can be used. The member will withdraw.CARMEL SEPULONI: Apologies.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): I am sorry. The member will withdraw. I did not require her to apologise.CARMEL SEPULONI: OK thank you. I do not mind apologising. This really does highlight—what is another word for it? [Interruption] It does highlight the inconsistencies of the National Government. So here we have some of the potentially poorest members of New Zealand society who are now going to be denied the right to claim for $27 or whatever it might be for the day that they were underpaid by the Government after a stand-down period. The inconsistencies are highlighted when we see that we have a Minister for Social Development who does not want to pay that amount of money to those people who are entitled to make a claim but does want to pay $3000 to Paula Rebstock per day for her role as chair of the Child Youth and Family review panel. We have a Government that does not want to pay out people who are underpaid in their benefit for a day and yet we have got a Government that will engage in extravagant spending like the $500 sheep repairs for the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment the $26000 Christmas party for that ministry a $140000 TV screen hair straighteners in the bathrooms an $11 million New York apartment a $26 million flag referendum that no one in New Zealand wants and potentially pandas for Wellington.It does show up inconsistencies with the Government’s approach to New Zealand citizens and all we are asking is that the Government provides a window of opportunity for these people to make their claim and that the Government delays the bill by 6 weeks so that these people have that window of opportunity to do that. Thank you.