9. Question No. 9—Workplace Relations and SafetyHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and SafetyQuestion No. 9—Workplace Relations and Safety9. Hon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Is he confident the Employment Relations Amendment Bill as reported back by the select committee has the support of a parliamentary majority?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety): Yes and I want to express my thanks to our coalition and confidence and supply partners who have helped us and continue to help us to shape and deliver a bill that restores workers' rights and strengthens their bargaining position something that we can all—SPEAKER: Order! The member's finished his answer. He probably finished it after one word.Hon Scott Simpson: Was the Deputy Prime Minister then correct when he said yesterday it was not the fact" that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill had been agreed to by Cabinet?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: The bill as introduced was agreed to by Cabinet. Should the Government see any opportunities to improve the bill in the future that will be a decision of Cabinet also.Hon Scott Simpson: So when the Minister took the employment relations reforms to Cabinet in the first 100 days of the Labour-led Government a bill that would amongst other things take away the 90-day trials allow union access to business premises without—SPEAKER: Order!Hon Scott Simpson: May I rephrase Mr Speaker?SPEAKER: I think the member can start again and it's going to be quite a lot shorter.Hon Scott Simpson: Thank you Mr Speaker. So when the Minister took the employment relations reforms to Cabinet did the Deputy Prime Minister and the rest of New Zealand First's Cabinet members support it?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: As a Government that is focused on growing an economy that is growing and working for all of us—SPEAKER: Order!Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: —yes.SPEAKER: Order! I'm now going to award the Opposition two extra supplementaries and I'm going to ask the Minister to focus on answering the question in future.Hon Scott Simpson: Sorry I'm to ask the question again or—SPEAKER: No he did answer it in the end but he gave superfluous not relevant material.Hon Scott Simpson: A further supplementary then: what parts of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill are still being negotiated with the New Zealand First Party or is he not involved with negotiations that would make changes to his own bill?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: The bill as returned from the Education and Workforce Committee is what I intend to bring before the House for second reading. If the Government sees an opportunity to improve the bill that will occur at the committee of the whole House and that will be a decision of Cabinet.Kieran McAnulty: How does this bill fit in with the Government's objective to grow and share New Zealand's prosperity more fairly?Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: This bill provides some of the foundations upon which that objective can be met and restores the rights of Kiwi workers that existed under the previous Labour Government which was a time of sustained economic growth in New Zealand.Hon Scott Simpson: If the point of making changes to the bill at this stage of the parliamentary process is as the Deputy Prime Minister says to "pay attention to the public" why were the changes not made by the select committee which had a Government majority and is tasked with listening to all submitters?SPEAKER: Order! That's not an area that the Minister has responsibility for.Hon Scott Simpson: With regard to the Labour-led Government's proposed industrial relations legislation at what point do actions undermining the principles of Cabinet collective responsibility coalition stability and cohesion cease being merely disloyalty and become workplace bullying?Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Order! Order! I'm—Rt Hon Winston Peters: He's just mischief-making.SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. That is not a question which is either in order or the responsibility of this Minister. Does the member have a further supplementary?Hon Scott Simpson: Is he concerned that the employment relations reforms were originally supported by the Deputy Prime Minister through Cabinet were supported by a select committee—sorry I've misspoken Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Well the member can start again. It's a bit of a habit we're getting into today.Hon Scott Simpson: Thank you very much for your patience. Is he concerned that the employment relations reforms were originally supported by the Deputy Prime Minister through Cabinet and were supported by a select committee which had a majority of Government MPs including a New Zealand First MP but are now being used as a political bargaining chip by the Deputy Prime Minister?Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The last three questions from that member are against the Standing Orders and with the greatest of respect—he's been around for a little time—he should not turn this into amateur hour with his baseless attack on the parliamentary process. Hon Gerry Brownlee: Mr Speaker I appreciate your rulings in the instance of the first two questions where clearly there was no ministerial responsibility as the question was asked but it is the responsibility of a Minister to shepherd bills through the House particularly once they have gone into the process. So to ask a Minister responsible about concerns they may have about potential derailing of original intentions is perfectly legitimate. And I would suggest too that in this newly created environment of MMP—which apparently the Deputy Prime Minister understands far greater than the rest of us—such a question is perfectly acceptable.Hon IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY: The only thing that concerns me about the passage of this bill through the House is the way in which the Opposition that does not have a substantive argument to make against the legislation has resorted to fearmongering and misleading the business community and the public of New Zealand in an attempt to make a political point.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That can't be an answer to the question. That cannot possibly be an answer to the question. To simply—SPEAKER: The member was asked—the member will resume his seat. At the tail-end of the question the Minister was asked about his concerns with regard to the bill. He's indicated what his concerns are."