Woodhouse MichaelHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National): I want to turn my attention now to the Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 2 in the name of Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie. This has been mentioned before but I don't think it's quite been given the attention that it deserves nor might I add has the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety been given I think the credit that he deserves for taking what was a sensible idea to improve this bill and supporting the Supplementary Order Paper. It does affect both Part 1 and Part 2 and I think I should record actually that the improvements—the increases in the keeping-in-touch days—are very generous and I just want to go through a little bit of the genesis of this and explain why this is so important and as I say pay the Minister a bit of kudos for his acceptance of this.This was an idea that first had some profile when our former colleague Katrina Shanks raised it some years ago—probably nine or 10 years ago—and it didn't really see the light of day until after Budget 2014 increased the amount the quantum of paid parental leave and I brought to the House I think two years ago the Employment Standards Legislation Bill which among other things actually set out an ability for parents to keep in touch with their workplaces. Up until that point whether the leave was paid or unpaid the return to work would result in the forfeiture of any outstanding paid parental leave—and the parental leave was to have been taken in a single block. I think it's a very good example of the way in which the legislation has now had so much more flexibility added to it that we did a number of things not the least of which was enabling parents to keep in touch with their workplaces. I should add also though that those precious first four weeks of the child's life were exempted from that opportunity; that the parent should not—or is not able to by law—use the keeping-in-touch provisions until after the child has reached the age of four weeks.So why is that important? Well there are a number of reasons. But in a modern workplace where systems and processes are changing at such a great speed it is necessary and appropriate for example simply for workers to be able to keep up with staff training or changes in technology new IT systems being brought in or new markets emerging. We are now talking about a period of between 26 and 52 weeks of parental leave—26 of them obviously would be paid but up to 52 weeks of parental leave overall. An enormous amount can happen in a year; in fact an enormous amount can happen in a week. And I think it is an entirely appropriate example of the flexibility that's being built into the legislation—thanks both to the previous National Government and to the willingness of the Minister in the chair to look at a good idea from Sarah Dowie and say yes to it—that we increase those opportunities. Twenty-six weeks of paid leave is a long time—that is great; 52 weeks of leave overall is also a very long time.So in my second intervention on Part 2 I just want to thank the committee and the Minister for his careful consideration of the SOP. I think it's a credit to Sarah Dowie that she saw this—well potentially a loophole. I don't want to go back and labour the point about the fact that we did first and second readings together without the opportunity for select committee but it is a risk that legislation not be as good as it could have been without that sort of scrutiny. Thank goodness that Sarah Dowie was alert to it and thank you to the Minister.