Guy Nathan: Employment Relations Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading 
Guy Nathan: Employment Relations Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:338] 
NATHAN GUY (National—Otaki) 
: 
 I am delighted to take a call on the first reading of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. It is a very important bill for the Government to push through before Christmas because of the economic times we are currently in where unemployment is rising and employees need to be given the chance to be employed.  
We have just heard from the previous Minister for Small Business Lianne Dalziel who is now on the Opposition benches. She used to oversee the Small Business Advisory Group. She was talking up this legislation and saying how important it was. She said the No. 1 issue that was raised by that advisory group concerned the 90-day probationary period. It is fantastic that she alluded to that in her presentation and actually supported it. That just shows how that advisory group actually worked through the process of analysing how important the legislation we are debating this afternoon is to small and medium sized business with fewer than 20 staff. It is a great thing that we are addressing this issue today under the leadership of Prime Minister John Key. We will deliver for small and medium sized businesses and we will give employers and employees the right to get on and create a very good working relationship. This was our pre-election commitment.  
Unemployment across the country is forecast to rise up to about 6 percent and it is tracking up now. [ 
Interruption 
] It is interesting that the previous Minister for Social Development and Employment Ruth Dyson is chipping in from the other side of the Chamber. When she was in the ministry and unemployment was clicking up then before we had the election she came out with a random comment to say she was not too concerned about unemployment increasing. Since then unemployment has carried on increasing. It is vitally important that unemployed people are given the opportunity to get back into some form of employment.  
In my area I am delighted to now be representing the Otaki electorate which encompasses the wonderful area of Kapiti and Horowhenua. In the last 12 months unemployment has risen in Kapiti alone by 44 percent—44 percent in the last 12 months in the Kapiti district. It just shows how important this legislation is going to be for small and medium sized businesses—for those employers to give people the opportunity to get into a job.  
We all know that it is particularly difficult in recruitment to know whether one has a compatible person who will work through with the employer and employee. Businesses across the country are saying that is one of the things that causes them a great amount of concern. The other issue is bureaucracy. The example I want to use comes from when I was on the campaign trail. I was out in an area in my electorate called Shannon. There was a mum and dad business that had just got going. They had mortgaged their whole house to set up their business. They had taken a risk and they were concerned about attracting the right people into their business and about whether those people would be compatible. This legislation will help to give those people time to work out that compatibility.  
It is really important for the Government to progress this legislation through its first reading second reading Committee stage and third reading. I look forward to having some ongoing dialogue with members on the other side of the House. Of course all their union mates want to say: “Oh well this is just going to be the right to hire and fire on the 89th day.” What an absolute load of hogwash. Anyone who has been involved in business knows that it is vitally important to upskill and to continue to train one’s employees. Why would any employers in their right mind on the 89th day want to kick out those people whom they have just trained and who are compatible in their business?  
It is interesting that a whole lot of countries in the OECD have longer trial periods. It is interesting that the soon to be elected if he has not been already president of the Labour Party and former member of the New Zealand Amalgamated Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union said that it has a 6-month trial period. So I cannot understand why Opposition members are so concerned about this legislation.  
Moving this legislation through will be vitally important when unemployment is tracking up. Vulnerable employees need to be given the opportunity to be taken on by employers. I have given an example of mum and dad investors who are petrified about taking the next step. They might currently have a wonderful innovative idea and they might be working out of their garage. We need to have more economic development in the region that I represent in Otaki and in Napier where Chris Tremain is from. These people are really concerned about taking the next step of employing people and getting the right relationship between employee and employer. This legislation is vitally important to growing the economy and we need to get on and endorse it. That is why I am speaking today very much in favour of it.