Stanford EricaERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'm very pleased to take a call this evening on the Support Workers (Pay Equity) Settlements Amendment Bill at second reading. It's taken a long time to get here but we are here and we have to acknowledge Kristine Bartlett who was the force behind the principal Act and her incredible tenacity. The bill amends that Care and Support Workers (Pay Equity) Settlement Act 2017 which as my colleagues before me have pointed out was the piece of legislation passed by the National-led Government to give effect to the historic $2 billion pay equity settlement for 55000 healthcare workers. This bill amends that Act as has been traversed to include those two further agreements signed by the Crown—one in 2017 signed with the vocational and disability support workers and then the other in 2018 which was signed by the mental health and addiction support workers. We're pleased to continue to support this bill at second reading and I must say as we get nearer to the heat of the campaign it's nice to be able to stand here in the House tonight and just speak to a bill that we all agree on—that has bipartisan agreement in the select committee and here in the House. On this side of the House we very much appreciate the hard work of the Health Committee. I wasn't on that committee but I do know that it's always very ably led by Louisa Wall who's an incredibly good chair and well respected by everyone especially on this side of the House. As I said I wasn't on the committee but I understand there were 13 submissions. I've had a look at them and in particular I'd like to point out the submissions from the Public Service Association and E tū proposing that the definitions of employer" in that principal Act should be amended to account for individualised funding arrangements—so people who receive their own direct funding from the Ministry of Health to employ a mental health support worker or addiction support worker. So while people in this arrangement mental health and addiction support workers and their clients are covered by the settlement agreement the committee wanted to make sure that this was reflected in the Act. The Ministry of Health's advice in their departmental report was that the definition of an employer should not be amended in the Act. In practice people currently receiving individualised funding for a care and support worker are required as a condition of that funding to pay the rates consistent with those in the settlement Act. In order to ensure that directly employed care workers consistently receive the pay and conditions that of course they're entitled to the Health Committee has recommended additions to include minimum hourly wage rates and back-pay. Clients who are directly funded to employ a key worker would be required to pay their care worker at least the minimum rates mandated in the relevant settlement agreement and the principal Act. They'd be required to pay back-pay to their workers if they'd been paid less than the minimum rates between 1 July 2017 and this bill coming into force. We are pleased with the changes that have emerged from the select committee very happy to support the bill at second reading and I commend the bill to the House."