Coffey TāmatiTĀMATI COFFEY (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is my pleasure to take a short call on the second reading of this bill. It is the first time I've been able to speak in this House and I just want to acknowledge the terrible devastation that happened in Wellington—in Newtown particularly—yesterday at the Loafers Lodge. Six people incidentally lost their lives and that is a tragedy and it's unnecessary.I stand here in this House today talking about health and safety. I listened to the other side of the House and I listened to their arguments about not supporting this bill about not supporting the rights of the workers in companies to be able to elect a health and safety representative or even a health and safety committee and I think about the unfolding situation as the police go in and do their investigation at the Loafers Lodge and I think about the health and safety surrounding that particular building. I wonder and I care for the workers who worked inside that building and potentially some of the health and safety concerns that they may have wanted to raise but maybe didn't have the opportunity to raise. This bill will from the time that it passes in this House—and this bill will pass—give workers the opportunity to be able to elect a health and safety representative and a health and safety committee if they choose to to be able to request information from the business itself and to be able to inspect a workplace. Trained health and safety representatives may be able to issue a provisional improvement notice to address a health or safety problem or to direct a worker to cease unsafe work. Workers inside any company see things at the front line and it's incredibly important to be able to give those workers the opportunity to be able to raise problems when they see them. I know that because as of the middle of last year I was a hospitality business owner. We had a bar and a restaurant and we had many health and safety issues that would come forward. Often it was staff raising it but I also understand how I was an open-minded business owner and I would listen to my staff how I knew that there were some operators that actually didn't and/or wouldn't listen to their workers because they had other pressing priorities. It is a shame and I think that what we're attempting to do here to give voice to those workers is incredibly important. I heard the previous member talk about the imposition of potential cost and the assault on businesses. This is not an assault on businesses. This is an incredibly rational piece of legislation which is going to give voice to workers and hopefully those workers and business owners—small-business owners—will be able to work constructively together on the issues that are raised. This is 100 percent not part of an assault on business owners as was previously suggested. This is a great piece of legislation that workers up and down the country will hopefully breathe a sigh of relief from and I hope that we start seeing them pop up. And it's not compulsory—this is not compulsory; this is an option. It is absolutely just an option for workers to be able to take this up if they so feel as though their voice isn't being heard. On this side of the House the Labour Party have always been about looking after the voice of workers and this bill demonstrates that 100 percent. The contribution from the other side of the House represents their interests and who they represent. On this side of the House we're doing the right thing. I commend this bill to the House.