Roberts AngelaANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is a pleasure to stand and take a call on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. As a new kid on the block it's always a real privilege to watch great work being done in this House and to watch and to be taught by the honourable Dr Deborah Russell and the work that she's done to make this bill come through so cleanly and swiftly and effectively. It is a mighty thing to watch. The bill is disciplined. It is clear. It is concise. We've had members across the House already talk this evening about how submitters saw an opportunity to take this issue more broadly but I think that precision has been very very helpful because clarity helps. No one can hide. It's very simple. Anyone who is behaving badly can clearly understand the process but more importantly for victims it helps to clarify what they have access to when they are having to make the decisions in really complex and stressful times.I want to acknowledge the submitters. It's such an important part of our process. With a bill like this they brought powerful truth to the process and it has helped us to clarify pieces of the bill with amendments and also remind us why we are in this House tonight and ensuring that this bill continues on its progress to being passed. We heard from unions and we heard from individuals and we've already heard tonight about the work that Unite Union have done in doing some research and talking to their members. We heard a description from one of their advocates about workers in very high-stress situations as most Unite workers are. It's fast-food it's hospo it's casinos—they're very vulnerable. They are often on very precarious contracts on minimum pay and conditions and they're often young and very inexperienced. When they're dealing with sexual harassment they also have to overcome often a significant workplace culture and pressure from employers about how to respond to that harassment. And more time as we've already heard is all that is being ask from this bill and it will have a significant impact to help workers through this additional challenge of culture and pressure from employers.We've heard about the recent survey and what that did was give us a shocking reality-check about the context within which workers are processing their sexual harassment experiences and getting to grips with what their options are. We've heard how most didn't know at the time of the harassment what a personal grievance was—45 percent still don't know what a personal grievance is. And the thing that really got me as someone who has spent much of my life working with young people is that no one under the age of 20 that they surveyed knew what a personal grievance was at the time they were harassed. They didn't know and most of them still don't know. Those who said that they had experienced sexual harassment—all of them were under 40 and 26 percent of them were under 20. These are the kids who would finish school at the end of the day or maybe they finished a history exam this afternoon and they've gone to work—to support their families to save so that they can travel or so they can continue their education—and they are vulnerable. They are under 20 and that they are being exposed to such behaviour is appalling to hear about—a shock—and it's something that we need to do something about.It isn't just about pushing back against the culture that is around these young workers and that makes them vulnerable to such behaviour but it is also about education. They didn't know what was possible until they had support. These victims need time to process to connect with people to get support and to work out what their options are. In this survey when they were asked about the response from their employers one person out of everybody surveyed reported that the issue was adequately investigated. So it isn't just that they're not using the current avenue—we're hearing that there are so few cases that get progressed—but they're simply not acceptable.We heard from a worker and advocate who talked about—she described herself as being the representative of so many untold stories. She described the topic of sexual harassment as being so taboo and hard for everyone involved. She said it's hard to confront the issue because of you know the mind-set that it's just too hard it's too much. It's too much trouble. Now for a victim to have that added to what they're going through—that it's too much trouble—is unacceptable and is why we need to support this bill. She said it's an uncomfortable topic and the additional time that would be afforded by this bill will ensure the clarity and the support needed to make a choice. She said it will be massive the impact.We heard from a young worker who said despite being harassed and despite attempting to go to management and the way it was poorly handled—brushed under the table—the culture of silence in this massive fast-food company that he worked in—he said he's still there. They're still there because of financial necessity and because of the support of their union. So a little shout-out to the union movement there—you know for taking a chance to do that.We heard from a Pasifika worker about how subtle it can be and so subtle it can take time to process what's actually happened. She described the suggestive teasing about how friendly and respectful Pasifika people should be and it becomes a familiar introduction to often a long drawn-out process. We heard about how this culture is exacerbated in places where women are in a minority such as in the trades or where you're an immigrant and so you're vulnerable. So we heard about the difficulties there.This bill is about time: time to realise to process what has happened. You know we hear employees often sort of minimise and joke about things as a way of coping all because that is the cultural norm and expectation of their workplace—or actually wider society to be fair. This bill is about time: a chance for people to think about what is happening and what is going to happen; to think about their choices and the implications of the decisions that they may make. It gives them time to realise and process. It also gives them time to seek advice and help and to really understand their options and to get support to help them to progress the personal grievance.It provides time for unions to provide support. We heard from a union delegate who said she's a civics educator a lawyer a therapist and an organiser. I think it must be really hard for a union to hear from their workers that they didn't even know what a personal grievance was and I think there's a significant challenge there. I guess—again as a former educator—that we have got so much to do. We have to support our employers to really challenge the culture that is in their workplaces and support them to make the change in that culture. We need to educate our young people. There is no way a young person should leave school in this country and not know their rights and responsibilities as workers. To not know what a personal grievances is is shocking. And we need to take up that challenge and ensure that those conversations are happening in schools and in workplaces. I'll give a little shout-out to the Young Workers Resource Centre in Hamilton. They do significant work across schools and the wider community about that education responsibility that we have towards our young workers.This bill gives us hope that things will change but we have to do more. Like I say we need to support our employers. So many want to do the right thing but we have to help them to shift the culture in their organisations. And we have to support our workers to be able to navigate this terribly complex place. It is for this reason that I commend this bill to the House.