Little AndrewOUR WORK OUR FUTURE BILLFirst ReadingANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition): I move That the Our Work Our Future Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Government Administration Committee to consider the bill. This is a landmark occasion: it is the first time that I can find in the history of this Parliament that a leader of the Opposition has not only had two bills drawn from the member's bill process but has had both bills before the House at the same time. This House has been very generous in supporting—so far by majority—my Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2) and I am sure that the same spirit of cooperation and collaboration will apply in relation to this bill as well.This bill continues the golden thread of all Labour members' bills and that is a thread of fairness and opportunity. Not for us the complex technical kind of law reform measures that are properly the province of the executive—but sometimes members get prevailed upon obviously to introduce that type of legislation through this process. I know there will be some members hanging out for the Private International Law (Choice of Law in Tort) Bill debate—well I am. Personally I am looking forward to that debate because it is a very important area of law.This bill is simple in form and deed. It amends a document called the Principles of Government Procurement and the Government's Rules of Sourcing. It amends these principles by adding two more considerations. First choosing a winning bid for a Government contract on its ability to create jobs in New Zealand—and what could be more important in a small very important nurturing country and economy like ours? The Government should take a lead in ensuring that its decisions particularly its procurement decisions are there to promote job creation in New Zealand. The second consideration that must now be taken account of is that Government organisations develop procurement processes so that companies focused on creating jobs in New Zealand have a fair chance of winning contracts.This bill is about New Zealand. This is about supporting the great country that we are. This is a bill for New Zealand. It is about making sure that our Government supports talented skilled and creative New Zealanders and the businesses they own and run when the Government gets to make procurement decisions. That is what it is about. It is very fair; it is not arduous and it is not onerous on the Government or on any other process.Here is the thing: the Government spends roughly $40 billion a year on goods and services. But the reality is that too many New Zealand businesses and companies are missing out on the opportunity to be part of that Government contracting. We saw just a few years ago the tragedy that was KiwiRail under its then management going overseas to source rolling stock that for decades had been fabricated here in New Zealand. The price we paid for that was the loss of skilled talented engineering workers at the Hillside railway workshops in Dunedin. When the rolling stock landed here in New Zealand from its offshore source it then required considerable remedial work—funnily enough done by New Zealand workers—before it could actually be used. All of that could have been short-circuited and we would have retained well-paid jobs and good talented New Zealanders in those jobs if the tender had gone to the Hillside railway workshops in the first place.There is another example and it is the IRD computer system—a project now running as I understand it at roughly $1.9 billion. The IRD went out and put together its tender process and insisted as a condition that it had to go to a large company with massive conglomerate-style approaches to its work. But the truth is that we have the IT talent and expertise here in New Zealand which with a little bit of creative effort and energy on the part of those in charge of the procurement process could have put together an appropriate joint venture—a cohesive bunch of New Zealand suppliers and companies that could have done the job. But that did not happen.And so this bill is about this Parliament saying to those who run the procurement processes and those who set up its rules that we want the Government to make sure that front and centre of those procurement decisions and those procurement processes is the ability for talented New Zealand companies to participate in this—not setting up processes and not having principles and elaborate documents that have the effect of excluding New Zealand businesses and companies.This as I said before is about New Zealand. It is about New Zealand in a world that is more competitive and getting harder to get by in. It is a bill for a country that has a track record of creating and developing incredibly skilled and talented people who are in demand around the world. Well if only they were in demand here by their own Government—what a difference that could make.This is about New Zealand's economy and our ability through the very simple mechanism and device of the Government when it spends its money giving priority to New Zealanders—the people who pay their taxes to the Government to provide them with security and certainty and prosperity. We have seen examples around the world. When good quality solid government procurement processes work well the Governments that do it create amazing companies that then become world players. That is the origin of the big defence contractors in the US: without a Government that was focused on what was right for that country and its businesses and its people we would not have Boeing supplying aircraft—757s for example—that can take politicians around the world.This is an opportunity for the members opposite actually and this Government to say to New Zealanders and to New Zealand companies: We back you and we're going to support you. We take New Zealand business seriously so that when we come to spend our $40 billion we are going to give you a chance to show us the excellence and the talent and the skills of the New Zealanders whom you employ and to do good things for the New Zealand Government too." Ultimately when great New Zealand companies—excellent New Zealand companies—get the chance to tender and get work for the Government and display their talents and skills it is not just good for the Government; it is good for every New Zealander.This is about supporting New Zealand supporting our economic base and supporting our people. It is about making sure that New Zealand companies—the entrepreneurs who set them up who are trying to do the best for New Zealand who want to create the job opportunities for New Zealanders and who want to pay decent wages because it is skilled work that they are offering—get a chance to get the work that the Government needs that requires that skilled and talented labour. This is a great opportunity. This is a great opportunity for New Zealand but most importantly it is a great opportunity for the members opposite to do what every member of Parliament is morally obliged to do and that is to act in the best interests of all New Zealanders.If they have been instructed by their research unit and their Ministers to knock this over I just prevail upon those members and their good conscience to do the right thing for all New Zealanders—the businesses in this country the companies and the talented workforce that they have got. Think about those who are struggling to get work; think about those businesses that are struggling to get the opportunity; think about the talent that sits behind them. Think about the opportunity that this provides to create that springboard that can create the next Microsoft the next great New Zealand - oriented company the next Weta Workshop—the next whatever it is—the next Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.This is the opportunity here today in this House to do the right thing to generate great jobs and to generate great wealth for all New Zealand so that every New Zealander can look at their Government and say: "At last a Government with a set of rules and a set of guidelines that gives us all a chance and gives this country a chance to be prosperous but most importantly to give Kiwis a fair go.""