Brown Peter: Holidays Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Brown Peter: Holidays Amendment Bill — In Committee 
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PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 This debate is quite interesting. When this bill was referred back to the House New Zealand First started by wanting to support it. It wanted to correct the anomalies. It wanted to tidy up the Holidays Act. I want to make New Zealand First’s position clear on that Act. We support low-paid people getting time and a half when they work on a public holiday. We are strong on that. We also support Matt Robson’s bill proposing to give 4 weeks’ holiday to low-paid people being amalgamated into this bill. We thought those were moves in the right direction. So we supported the first bill but we got it wrong. 
We got it far more wrong than we ever envisaged at the time. This bill was the opportunity to correct the anomalies. New Zealand First approached it with that in mind. We wanted to correct the anomalies but we have failed to do that. The bill corrects some of them. It corrects the non-payment of time and a half when a person volunteers to work on a public holiday but for some reason he or she does not and is then no longer entitled to get time and a half. That was a good move. It also corrects the anomaly of the blank-cheque approach to sick leave. Now the employee will have to see a doctor if the employer is worried or wants proof. That was a move in the right direction although we would like to see it a little tighter. 
But Wayne Mapp’s amendment which addressed the problem of relevant daily pay was ignored. My understanding was and I am sure it is shared by my New Zealand First colleagues that United Future members were concerned about the problems of relevant daily pay. Here was the chance to address it all and they said: “No we abstain.” and they said that this is taking a bite out of an elephant. All that United Future is doing is licking the elephant’s rump. It does not even have a mouthful of flesh— 
John Key 
: That’s not a good mental picture. 
PETER BROWN 
: It summarises its view. United Future also ignored my proposed amendment which would have addressed the problem of salary earners getting time and a half when they work on a public holiday. Earlier we heard John Key talk about Theresa Gattung who under this bill could work on a public holiday and get time and a half for the time worked. 
John Key 
: And a day in lieu. 
PETER BROWN 
: And a day in lieu—and she gets only $2.8 million a year! 
John Key 
: She gets 15 grand for working on a public holiday and a day in lieu. 
PETER BROWN 
: I do not know how she will cope. It will be a struggle. Clearly United Future has taken that on board and is saying to Theresa Gattung: “We’re not sure that you’re getting enough so here’s a bit more just in case.” This is pitiful. 
United Future has let the side down today. It did not have a representative sitting on the select committee. It did not show any interest in coming along to the committee and as far as I am aware it did not even ask for a copy of the submissions. Yet it comes here today and supports a bill that it knows in its heart of hearts addresses only one small part of the problem. 
Paul Adams 
: One bite. 
PETER BROWN 
: No it is not just one bite. It is a long way from that. One cannot even see the teeth marks. That is how small a bite it is. Here was the opportunity to tidy up the whole thing once and for all. If United Future had said: “Let’s get together and tidy this up and then we will support the bill.” New Zealand First would have supported the bill. Today I have listened to United Future’s contributions small as they may be and they have persuaded me that this is too far wrong to give it any support to at all. 
I am disappointed with the Government members. Apart from the Minister nobody from the Government side has taken a call at all—not one single call. The chairman is rushing this through and the Government members have not taken one call. Poor old United Future is waving the flag for the Government and when a crucial point is reached it abstains. 
John Key 
: Are there any other parties in this Chamber that abstain? 
PETER BROWN 
: I cannot readily think of one.