Brown Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brown Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:628;Page:91] 
6.  
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does the Government have any plans to assist the 617 Air New Zealand heavy maintenance engineers in finding further employment in New Zealand if Air New Zealand proceeds with its plans to outsource its engineering work offshore; if so what are those plans? 
Hon Member 
: That’s a patsy question. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 It certainly is not a patsy question. The Government will assist where it can. As I said in addition to any standard measures I am prepared to look at special retraining assistance if need be. But of course there is still some way to go in the discussions between the engineers union and the management and board of Air New Zealand. 
Peter Brown 
: Noting that answer does the Minister accept there is a major difference between making people redundant because there is not enough work and making them redundant because the work is being contracted out to an overseas contractor; if he does accept there is a difference can he explain how as the majority owner of Air New Zealand he can allow work to be contracted out overseas leaving 617 highly skilled New Zealanders jobless after signing up two confidence and supply agreements that advocate Buy Kiwi Made initiatives aimed at promoting locally produced goods and services? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I can make it clear firstly that the Government is not going to get into the position of subsidising on a large scale New Zealand employers—they must make management decisions about how they arrange their businesses. Secondly contrary to what has often been said in the public arena over the last couple of weeks the fact that the Government is a majority shareholder—but not by any means a 100 percent shareholder—is a strong reason for not intervening in a case such as this rather than a reason for intervening. 
John Key 
: What are the differentiating factors that encouraged the Government to apply pressure to the board of TVNZ in relation to the contracts of Judy Bailey and Susan Wood but that do not encourage this Government to apply similar pressure to the board of Air New Zealand in relation to 617 employees? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I do not accept the initial premise of that question. My understanding is that TVNZ was trying to negotiate a reduction in salary for the two people mentioned. I do not understand that what is actually being talked about is a reduction in salary for 600 airline staff; those staff will go down the road according to the plan that Air New Zealand has announced. If the Opposition member wants to stick up for people who cry when they do not get $800000 a year then that says something about the National Party. 
Peter Brown 
: Is the Minister aware that aircraft engineer is one of the occupations listed on the long-term skill shortage list for the New Zealand Immigration Service and will he immediately seek to have aircraft engineer removed from that list if Air New Zealand goes through with its plans to sack the 617 engineers? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: That is not in my portfolio area—a number of other matters are—but my understanding is that the lists are based on objective criteria. I would have thought that the department will be looking at those criteria in the light of the current circumstances. 
Sue Bradford 
: How can the Minister say that the Government does not massively subsidise New Zealand employers when both Working for Families and the accommodation supplement are huge daily subsidies to employers; and is he aware that New Zealand Trade and Enterprise actually identified aircraft maintenance as a key specialised manufacturing sector for this Government? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Regarding the last part of the question that does not mean to say that the Government should subsidise jobs. We are not subsidising jobs with packages like Working for Families any more than the previous Government did with similar moves. We are ensuring that people with family responsibilities can ensure that their children and families live in reasonable circumstances. It is a long time since people in New Zealand expected to be paid more for being married than for being unmarried—that last occurred in about the 1960s from memory. 
Peter Brown 
: I seek leave to table the intermediate skill shortage list from the New Zealand Immigration Service website which states that there is a shortage of aircraft engineers in New Zealand. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is. It will not be tabled.