SpeechDAN ROSEWARNE (Labour): It's a huge privilege to speak on this bill. I just want to begin by saying that everyone should receive fair pay for their hard work and Labour is working hard to protect our workers and their rights and is ensuring that they get a fair deal without exploitation by strengthening laws around work. This bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 to clarify that not paying an employee wages is theft. Currently offences relating to theft by a person in a special relationship are insufficient to account for wage theft by employers. Right now the processes are too complex and can discourage those who are victims of wage theft to raise their concerns. This bill makes a distinction which will set out in the law—giving clear direction to employees—that they have the right to be paid what they are due. It's a symbolic change for workers and it will be the first time that this distinction will be clarified in law. Workers deserve protection under the law and it's often our low-income and immigrant workers who are victims of wage theft. Ibrahim Omer the member who introduced this bill to the House discussed this before the debate was interrupted a couple of weeks ago. We've just heard Camilla Belich talk about Ibrahim's journey and how he got to this place and I'll tell you what mate it's an absolute inspiration to see you here in this House being able to effect change. I'm blimmin proud of you and I'm blimmin proud to be your mate.This also came up when the Hon Phil Twyford and I and also Ibrahim Omer and Camila Belich had an Afghan community forum several weeks ago where we got the community together and had a chance to discuss their experiences in New Zealand. A lot of them have only recently moved to New Zealand after this Government conducted evacuations from Hamid Karzai International Airport and they have just recently resettled in Auckland. It was really good just having a chat to them about work and how they have settled in and how their employer-employee relationship was going and one of the things that concerned me was around how they weren't totally aware of what their rights were. So that was a very important thing for us MPs to hear so we can provide that wraparound support and that constituency service particularly around what their employee rights were.The new offence created by this bill will capture employers who owe wages and intentionally do not pay them to the employee. This includes the unlawful withholding of wages salaries and other monetary entitlements within the employment relationship. This bill supports the Government's commitment to ensuring that everyone should receive fair pay for hard work. Labour is working hard to protect our workers' rights and ensure that they get a fair deal without that exploitation and by strengthening laws around work.As discussed earlier stealing a computer or a car—that's considered theft. So why should stealing wages be any different? For once what we would like to see is for the National Party to exercise what they so frequently preach in this House which is to get tough on crime and support victims and support this bill because over on this side of the House we're committed to cracking down on crime and this is part of that.This bill is about human dignity. This was highlighted by Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff who stated that wage theft is an insidious practice that tends to target low-income and immigrant workers and he further stated that we hear too many stories of hard-working people being ripped off by dodgy bosses with no real repercussions. So it's an important to have meaningful penalties for employers who steal from their workers and it's important that the law makes it clear that these criminal penalties do not replace an obligation to pay back the wages owed to workers.So in sum everyone should receive fair pay for hard work. That is what Labour is all about—it's about preserving workers' rights. I'd like to thank the member who brought this bill before the House and I'd like to commend it to the House. Thank you Madam Speaker.