Jackson WillieHon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister of Employment): Yes I'll look forward to that too from the former Minister Michael Woodhouse. First off though I'd like to congratulate my colleague Kieran McAnulty on this and also my old mate former union boss Darien Fenton.I worked in the union movement for over 15 years and saw the inequality that the previous member Kieran McAnulty talked about. The problem with what we have in the workplace is that it's an unfair workplace which was pointed out very aptly I think. It's an unfair workplace when individuals who have no background or experience in negotiations are asked to negotiate. I know that the previous Minister thinks that that's somehow fair but that is unfair. The market flexibility that the National Party so rejoices in and so celebrates does not work for a lot of ordinary average Kiwis. It just doesn't work. It is something that we cannot celebrate. So this bill goes some way to putting some protection and stability around workers.Employment now manifests in many forms. Some of our workers work multiple jobs to make up their 40 hours while others are employed on a temporary basis through hire companies who facilitate them through to a host employer who controls how the work is done. So it's really important that we revisit our employment relations legislation regularly to ensure that we get the balance right and that's the problem here. The balance—well there is an imbalance. That's just a fact.The Opposition will say no doubt as we go down the track that this employment relations amendment bill is some sort of union shopping list that will hurt New Zealand's economy. But this isn't about unions; this is about people. This is about ensuring that we have a robust and resilient economy that everyone can participate in and more importantly an economy that also works for all the people.In most cases a worker will only be able to take action against a labour hire agency if they're treated badly. This bill will allow the authority or court to determine when the responsibility should be split fairly between the two. As a Government we're committed to fairness to all Kiwis to all New Zealanders and I'm not sure who would argue that these workers shouldn't have the same protection as everyone else. Even the former Minister I'm sure would agree with that. The reality is some employers are using agency workers in order to avoid paying the negotiated rate under the collective agreement. This bill will allow workers who are union members doing work covered by the collective agreement and not covered by another collective agreement to get the same terms and conditions as direct employees.It's an honour to support this bill as Minister of Employment and as Minister of Employment I'm focused on identifying and developing solutions for barriers to employment working with groups of people who are not positively represented in employment statistics and supporting communities to identify and respond to local issues with local solutions. Part of my focus will always be about ensuring that we have legislation in place which I'm proud to say that this Government is going through that supports a fair and equitable labour market for all participants.It's important to remember that being a contractor instead of an employee means the same rights enjoyed by other workers are denied and they can't bargain collectively under the Employment Relations Act.Hon Michael Woodhouse: That's not the issue in this bill.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Oh no; that is the issue. And the issue is also the coldness and heartlessness shown by yourself and your mates on the other side. Shame on the lot of ya because you have no understanding about what workers have gone through because you've never been a worker.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order!Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Oh sorry Mr Assistant Speaker. So in summary we must strengthen our economy by making it work for everyone and I commend my colleague Kieran McAnulty for this. We must help our regions grow by creating and sustaining jobs; we must help our families to become homeowners once more; and we must make a real dent as our Prime Minister keeps saying in child poverty. And I commend her for her commitment to that and our party—our coalition—for that commitment that we are making on behalf of all New Zealanders. Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker.