Sowry Roger: Holidays Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Sowry Roger: Holidays Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:620;Page:16025] 
Hon ROGER SOWRY (National) 
: 
 National is obviously totally opposed to the changes that are being introduced by the Government in the Holidays Amendment Bill. I say to the Minister in the chair Paul Swain that we are not opposed to it because we think the current legislation is working. Clearly it is not. He has acknowledged himself that he made a mess of it last time around and that he is trying to fix it. I would ask the Minister how he reconciles his view that he is fixing the problem with the view of submissioners to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee—the Retailers Association the Hospitality Association Air New Zealand Business New Zealand Carter Holt Harvey one of the largest companies in New Zealand the meat industry and Heinz-Wattie. They were all invited to the select committee with the agreement of the Labour members of Parliament to make submissions. None of them was listened to on the issue in this part which is the issue of relevant daily pay. None of them was listened to at all. 
I direct the Minister to Air New Zealand’s submission. I hope he has read it because Air New Zealand is a Government-owned entity and Government-owned entities do not usually criticise the hand that feeds them. Air New Zealand came before the committee and said a couple of things. One of the things it said was that the Holidays Act which was passed by the Labour Government last year was such a shambles that this week it is in court to try to get a ruling from the Employment Court on how to deal with the Act. That is the first thing. The next issue is whether this amendment bill fixes the problem for Air New Zealand. The answer is no. Air New Zealand told the select committee that it believed the “penal on penal” concept still exists and that this bill does not fix the problem. 
The debate on this bill will be interesting because the Greens have said that they do not support the bill. They are not voting for it at all. All the business groups oppose it. ACT National New Zealand First and United Future have individually told business that they support the position of business. So one party has told porkies. One party is telling business that it is with business on this bill but that party will vote with the Government to get it through. One party will do that. Which party has told the business lobby that it is with business and that it thinks the bill will not fix the problem but will in fact vote for the bill? Which party will do that? We will watch with interest to see who it is. 
We members of the select committee know that no business group supports this part—the penal rates of overtime—which effectively is the unintended consequence that the Minister kept talking about. That is not fixed. People who sell on commission and who work on a public holiday still get the extra commission on their sales that were not made on the public holiday. What sort of nonsense is that? It will stop many businesses from operating on the day. The Hospitality Association told the select committee that it is easier to stay shut which gave joy to many Labour members I have to say or to employ somebody—a mate—and pay him or her by way of a voucher for a bar tab or a free meal in the restaurant. It is easier to do it in that way than to actually employ someone. In fact we have examples of the Hospitality Association now hiring people with a clause in their contract that states that they will not be employed on public holidays. That is not because the business will be shut but because the business cannot afford to pay them on a public holiday and it will come to other arrangements.