Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Look it's a pleasure to stand to take the opportunity to speak on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. First and foremost I'd like to congratulate my colleague Deborah Russell for knowing where to change the law in the right way. We know from previous members' bills that sometimes a very small change in the law can make a very significant change in the daily lives of people in New Zealand and I think this bill does exactly that. So the simple change of enabling a longer period to be able to lodge a personal grievance gives people time to process what may have happened to them and to do that in a way that they feel comfortable and confident in being able to do that.I think it also sends a strong message that we need to be more accommodating to enable people to come forward and that's exactly what this bill does. So currently only 90 days is able to be done for a report of sexual harassment. That can be difficult because that behaviour may be ongoing. That behaviour may have been occurring for a number of years. So coming to terms with that and being able to come forward is an important part. It is an imperative that employees have time to consider what has occurred and to feel safe to raise it with others. This bill will ensure that there is time to process and proceed in a manner which best suits that person and their family.The current deadline seems an arbitrary number of days that imposes a deadline on victims of workplace sexual harassment and makes it less likely that they could potentially formally raise concerns about the behaviour of their colleagues. This bill will improve the personal grievance process for victims to consider what has happened to them before deciding to come forward.I think importantly it sends that message that it is OK to come forward. I'd like to share a story. My first job was when I was 15 years old working in a supermarket and I worked alongside other females at a similar age. Our boss at the time was sexually harassing one of the members of staff and we did not know what to do. We knew it wasn't right. We knew what he was saying was kind of a joke but it wasn't a right joke. Then it proceeded that he was offering driving lessons to one girl in particular after hours unbeknown to her parents. It was me who at the time raised it with the superiors. I was terrified when I did it but I knew that it was not right and that member of staff was transferred to another supermarket. It was only when he was transferred that the victim broke down and cried. It was only then that she came to the full realisation that she had been a victim of sexual harassment. That experience that stepping up and making a stand got the full support of my female colleagues and formed and forged my experience in workplace relationships going forward to know that you need to call things out when you need to.So I would like to hope that this bill sends a strong message to all those 15-year-old women or men in workplaces around New Zealand who are yet to be full adults and know what's going on or maybe who just think you're along with colleagues in any of those circumstances. If you do not feel comfortable or do not feel right in your workplace you have the right to challenge that and you should not be curtailed by 90 days in order to be able to carry that forward. So I commend Deborah and her ability to take something that needs to change. I look forward to more laws in this space to continue to grow this strength of having good and strong workplaces where everybody can feel safe and enjoy their work every day. I commend this bill to the House.