Davidson MaramaTUESDAY 12 DECEMBER 2023(continued on Thursday 14 December 2023)FAIR PAY AGREEMENTS ACT REPEAL BILLThird ReadingDebate resumed.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Teanau Tuiono): Mōrena. The House is resumed and we return to the third reading of the Fair Pay Agreements Act Repeal Bill. I'll call the next speaker and that's from call No. 6 which is a split call No. 2 the Green Party a 5-minute call.Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON (Co-Leader—Green): It really suits you up there in that seat Mr Speaker. I'm never going to get tired of saying that.My third reading speech is to our workers is to our unions is to our whānau and community members of workers who are feeling pōuri are feeling the mamae from the signal that is sent out from this legislation the message that is sent out from the repeal of the fair pay agreements legislation which was for the first time in decades—in decades—going to finally address the particular inequities including for those industries and sectors that are overrepresented by Māori and by Pasifika and by women and by young people and by disabled people and others. Those systemic inequities despite best efforts over years to improve the conditions the pay the value of workers—those systemic inequities have been stubborn have been stubborn to get recognition for fair pay for fair conditions for valuing workers in particularly precarious work situations workers in lower paid industries getting safety recognition getting their voices included and valued in decisions that are made getting training and advancement and development settled across those industries those areas and sectors that we depend on that we depend on to be able to go about our normal lives.I mentioned in my contributions that even though many of us can stand here and point to our own whakapapa and our own links with—for example both of my parents were decades-long bus drivers here in Wellington actually when the old depot used to be down the bottom of Courtenay Place before it moved to Kilbirnie decades of bus drivers multi generations of cleaners and cafe workers. My nana actually worked for Lion—the old Lion was it in Ōtara?—as a cleaner and as a chef. I myself have been cleaning motels a supermarket worker a retail and bar worker. Those of us who yes can have those reflections and those connections—why are we not trying to do the best for them? Every single one of them every single one of us in here whether we have those connections or not—whether we have those connections or not. Why are we not trying to do the very best for the people with the least power the least influence the least resource the least wealth and power? That's what this legislation is. My message is to our workers their whānau to unions—we are here. The Greens are here. We always have been. We are bringing your voices into the halls of power. We have been even recently including actually Mr Speaker with early childhood education (ECE). Can I do that with ECE rallies? OK I can't. I'll write that off. Including the Green Party members who have been on the ground with strike action and union collective action—myself and Ricardo Menéndez March were at the rally outside the Epsom electorate offices early in the week; our Labour colleagues were there as well—to hear directly their voices their experiences their insights and their love for supporting people in whānau and communities. That is my top aroha and whakaaro for myself in this third reading speech for the Greens and our commitment ongoing sustained enduring and that workers can feel and see and know that they have support here with our party with our members across the community with our volunteers and supporters. That is the commitment that I make in this speech. To be really clear the repeal of this legislation is an absolute assault on workers. There are all sorts of guises and pretences based on belief—is what we keep hearing from the Minister: based on belief. It's not; it is a direct assault on workers. The Greens will always support workers. Thank you Mr Speaker.