Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day) Amendment Bill

I certainly want to use my final 2 minutes for the purpose of recording that New Zealand First does support the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, and there are five reasons to do so.

One is the opportunity for observance by all employees, and that should be something that is primary in the consideration of the bill. Without the opportunity to observe these important days, we do not have a proper system of observance at all. The second reason relates to fairness. Some employees work on weekend days and some do not. It should be fair between them all. The third relates to consistency. There should be more consistency around which days you can Mondayise and which you cannot. Fourthly, we need to enhance the importance of these two days. And, fifthly, there is no real burden on the economy from doing so.

Finally, as a holiday can be granted in two out of seven years on average, there can be no burden on employers either.

May I begin by saying that we on this side of the House are voting against the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. I want to use the time I have available to actually explain to the other side what I seen as lacking.

There is, obviously, a lack of understanding on the other side of the House, on the Opposition benches, of the primary industries, which we are very fortunate to have. The effects of such legislation on the primary industries has been perverse for some time. The whole exercise and example around this can be illustrated well by looking at Anzac Day, should it fall on a weekend. There are many employers and employees who are involved in flexible working situations. I want to use one that is fairly close to my heart, and that is the wool industry. In regard to the shearing industry, it is not uncommon to be in a situation where workers these days are managing farms. When it comes down to actually trying to get some cohesion and coordination within a seasonal pressure situation, such events as are being proposed by this bill are nothing but cumbersome and obstructive.

An example is a farming business where the employer enforces the employees getting the sheep in ready for a Monday start or a Tuesday start. In the event of this bill, what happens? It is a Wednesday start. So there are costs. This is just one example. There is the other situation where there are very often wet seasonal situations. A situation comes down to its Friday and it has been raining for a week, then in the weekend it comes right. Nobody is going to start work on Sunday, because there is another holiday on Monday. Nobody starts work until Wednesday. We are talking about thousands of people who are affected by this situation. Weather-dependent situations do arise. Whether it is making of silage, making of hay, or putting in the critical winter crop, it is guided by a situation. We are not talking about 1 day or 2 days here; we are talking about 4 days, in effect. I have seen no indication of consideration of that from the other side of the House.

In effect, this sort of legislation also creates inequity around the business model that is operating at the time. It enables an owner-operator to carry on doing their thing, whereas an employer, who offers job security to employees, is totally put at disadvantage. What these sorts of bills do is actually create perverse incentives whereby the employer will put employees on subcontracting situations to be able to get round this situation.

You may say on the other side of the House that 88 percent of people come from urban areas and only 12 percent of people from rural areas. Well, that is not quite the case.

I can say with great pride that it never happened in my day—and thank goodness it did not—and it should not be happening today. When we look at work, the popular view is that a holiday is marvellous, but from my own personal experience a holiday with four children was a costly experience. When you look at the family situation today, it is quite clear that this bill is making a rather complex employment situation even more complex.

It is objectionable that people on the other side of the House, in Opposition, stand in the way of people who want to work. It is sort of consistent, when you stop and think about it, because the Opposition finds it better to give away productivity—better to give away those opportunities for New Zealand to get ahead. On the National Party side of things here, we are very proud of the work we have done to try to make sure that this economy grows and goes ahead.

Let us count some of those things. The complexity of this bill does not address the full situation. In the hospitality area, a lot of people have Mondays off. They work from Tuesday to Saturday and they will not be covered. So as far as this bill addressing an anomaly, all it does is create further complexity. Within the primary sector there are some huge problems around the complexity. Today, as in my day, when the sheep are dry or when the hay is ready to be made, that is when you should work. So I have no difficulty in opposing this bill.

What an extraordinary speech from Colin King! I think somewhere in the middle of that speech he decided he did not like Christmas, he did not seem to particularly like children very much either, and he does not want people to have holidays. But the National Party, unfortunately, has a history—

💬 Hon Nathan Guy: He’s got children.

Yes, he has. That is right, Mr Guy—he has. And the point of that interjection is? The National Party has never liked the idea of workers getting holidays. It has never liked it. When legislation on 4 weeks’ annual leave came to this House the National Party members got up and they opposed it. Judith Collins said this during the debate on 4 weeks’ leave: “I do not have a lot of sympathy with anyone who wishes to be generous,”. That is what Judith Collins said when she got up in this House to debate 4 weeks’ annual leave. The sky did not fall in when the Labour-led Government introduced 4 weeks’ annual leave. In fact, people got to spend more time with their families, and they got to enjoy more time in their communities.

Holidays for workers are actually very important for productivity, and that is why businesses actually support this legislation, the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. Businesses know that in 5 out of 7 years they will have to plan to give people time off for Waitangi Day and Anzac Day. It is not that difficult to turn that into 7 out of 7 years. That is what businesses are saying. Today in the House we have already heard that Martin Snedden from the Tourism Industry Association is saying that this is great—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: A great New Zealander.

He is a great New Zealander who supports a great bill, because what he said is that this is going to be good for the economy. This is actually going to lead to more business on those days that people have a holiday.

But, ultimately, this bill is about a fair deal for families in New Zealand. The Holidays Act has 11 public holidays in it and in every year New Zealanders deserve a fair go to have those 11 public holidays. It is an anomaly that when Anzac Day and Waitangi Day fall on a weekend we do not create a holiday on a Monday. It happens for Christmas Day. We hear from people on the other side of the House that somehow or other this very good bill is diminishing the importance of Anzac Day and Waitangi Day. Far, far from it: Christmas Day, when it falls on a weekend, generates a holiday on a Monday. Has Christmas suddenly lost its importance in New Zealand? Absolutely not.

Anzac Day and Waitangi Day are important days in New Zealand’s history. They are an important part of our identity. This bill will enable New Zealanders to commemorate those days on the days they fall, on 6 February and 25 April, and it will give New Zealanders the days off every year—not just for 5 years in 7. That is a good thing. In Australia, where in most states this applies, attendance at Anzac Day services has been going up. People value the day, they value the importance of the day to our national identity, and they also enjoy the fact that they can have a day off with their families.

This bill has been a long time coming, and, as someone in whose name it formerly was, I can tell you that it is enormously popular with New Zealanders. New Zealanders understand that they deserve a fair deal. New Zealanders work hard. New Zealanders work harder than most people around the world, and that is a good thing. But New Zealanders deserve the 11 public holidays in the Holidays Act every year. This bill is a bill that the Labour Party is incredibly proud to bring to this House because it is about fairness for families. It is about a fair deal so that people can actually spend more time with their families. Why would National oppose a fair deal for families? Why would National say that workers do not deserve the 11 public holidays that they are guaranteed every year in the Holidays Act?

I believe that Waitangi Day and Anzac Day will continue to grow in importance for New Zealanders. They will continue to be part of what shapes our national identity. What this bill does is recognise the importance of those days and says to New Zealanders that they will get a fair deal. That is the fair deal that a Labour Government will provide. In Opposition we are at least able to put this bill forward. I am very grateful for the support from other parties, which I am sure will see this bill pass, and it will be a great day for New Zealand families.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Kia ora tātau katoa. I a tātau e kōrero nei mō tenei o ngā pire, e rua ngā take nui whakaharahara, e pīrangitia nei e au, e mātau o te Pāti Māori hei whakatakoto ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata. Tuatahi ko tērā o ngā waiata, ngā karanga nei me kī, “honour the Treaty”, tērā kōrero. Ka rua, ko te āhuatanga o te waihotanga mai o Tā Apirana Ngata i te wā i a ia. Arā, ko tana kōrero, ko “the price of citizenship”. Ēnei take katoa, “honour the Treaty”, “the price of citizenship”, kei reira tonu tētahi hononga ki waenganui i ngā kaupapa e rua i roto i tēnei pire.

Ehara i te mea kua aro atu mātau ki tēnei mea ko te hararei, kāo. Kua waihotia ake tērā ki te taha. Ehara i te mea kua aro atu ki te āhuatanga o tēnei mea o te moni, me ngā mahi o te pakihi, kāo. Ka waiho tērā ki reira. Kotahi tonu te kaupapa, ko tō tātau nohotahi, i raro i te korowai o Aotearoa. Ngā rā e 2, kātahi nei ngā rā whakaharahara hei hanga i tēnei mea ko te kotahitanga o Aotearoa. Ka mutu, ko tā tātau nohotahi ā-Māori, ā-Pākehā me kī i te whenua kotahi. Me pēnā ka tika i tēnei rā, i tēnei wiki i te mea ko Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori tēnei, 25 tau mai i te wā i whakamanahia ai te rā o Te Reo Māori. Me kī ko te ture Maori Language Act 1987.

Ko ēnei momo ture, me tērā o te Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, he kaupapa nui whakaharahara o roto i a tātau. Nā runga i te aha nā runga i te mea ko ēnei kaupapa e rua, e hangaia nei hei whakakotahi nei i a tātau—kaua ki te whakawehewehe. Ka mutu, ka puta te kōrero he whenua motuhake a Aotearoa, tā tātau noho ā-iwi Tiriti, ā-iwi tangata whenua.

Ko ētahi o te motu ka kī atu, ē, nō mua noa atu, nō ngā rā ō nehe ēnei kōrero katoa. Waiho ngā take o te Tiriti o Waitangi ki mua, ki reira tahuna mai ai. Ka mutu, kāre he paku pānga o ērā kaupapa o ngā tau 1840. Waiho ērā ki reira kāre he take o ēnei rā, ko tāku ko te kī atu e kāo, kāo. Me kōrero i ēnei kōrero mō te Tiriti ka tahi, me kōrero mō te āhuatanga o te hunga i haere ki tāwāhi mō te pakanga. Ka mutu kei reira tonu tētahi tauira ō roto i te Muriwhenua fishing report i te tau 1988. Ka puta te kōrero a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi, mō te āhuatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi i ēnei rā. Anei tā rātau i te reo Pākehā: “Any impracticality today results not from the Treaty but from our failure to heed its terms. The important point is that there was, and still is, room for an agreement to be made.” He kupu whakaharahara ēnei kupu i te mea, he mea whakaohooho nei i te āhuatanga o te tīmatanga mai o te Tiriti. Ka mutu, he hononga o te Tiriti Pākehā ki te Ao Māori e noho nei i raro i te korowai kotahi. Me maumahara anō hoki tātau, i hainatia te Tiriti i te tau 1840. Ka mutu, 200,000 Māori ki tērā o te 2,000 Pākehā. Ko wai te pōrangi ka kī atu ka tukuna e te Māori tōna rangatiratanga ki te hunga manuhiri me kī. Kāre au i te whakaae atu ki tērā. Nō reira, i whai atu ngā mātua tīpuna o te Ao Māori i tēnei huarahi kia nohotahi i raro i te āhuatanga o tēnei mea o te rangatiratanga kua mōhio tonu tātau e noho taupatupatu ngā kaupapa.

Ka mutu, ka hoki mai ki te āhuatanga o te Anzac. He kaupapa anō rā tērā kua pā mai ki a tātau. I te rau tau kua hipa ake, i konei a Tā Apirana Ngata, i roto i tēnei Whare Pāremata, i mua o te wā o te haerenga o ngā hōia ki tāwāhi, me tana kōrero mō tēnei mea o “the price of citizenship”. Ko tana kōrero, i haere ngā Māori ki tāwāhi ki te pakanga i tuku i te āhuatanga o tēnei mea o te oranga o te tangata mō te aha? Ka mutu mō te equal citizenship i raro i te korowai o te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Nō reira ēnei kōrero katoa e hāngai tonu ana ki a tātau ināiatonunei. Nō reira koinei te āhuatanga o tā mātau harikoa kua eke tēnei o ngā kōrero ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata. Ko tā te Pāti Māori he tautoko i te ia o tēnei pire, ka mutu ka tautoko ake kia taea ai e te marea, te wānanga te hōhonutanga o tēnei mea, kia hoki mai ki taku kōrero, e rua ngā take, “honour the Treaty” ka tahi, “the price of citizenship” ka rua. Ērā atu kōrero katoa mō te moni, waiho mō te wā. Tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker. Greetings, everyone. As we debate this bill there are two concepts that we, the Māori Party, wish to present before Parliament. Firstly, there is the activist chant “honour the Treaty”, and, secondly, there is the legacy of Sir Apirana Ngata’s phrase “the price of citizenship”. Both are connected intimately in this bill.

Our support is not connected to the opportunity for a holiday. Neither is it about the impact of this bill on productivity or whether Mondayising the day makes good business sense. Our support is founded on the fundamental importance of these 2 days in helping define our sense of nationhood. Of course, it is an appropriate time to be doing this, in Māori Language Week, the 25th anniversary of the Maori Language Act 1987.

Legislation like that Act and the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act are milestones along the way in the journey of nation-building. They are pointers in our collective knowledge about what makes us unique: the relationship between the indigenous people, the people of the Treaty.

Some people seem to speak of history—more particularly, the events of 1840, or the world wars in which our nation served—as being about a past that has no relevance to today. I reject those sentiments. That is precisely why we need to continue to talk about the Treaty and to reflect on those who went overseas to war. In the Muriwhenua fishing report of 1988, the Waitangi Tribunal spoke about the practical application of the Treaty for the modern world. This is what they had to say in English: “Any impracticality today results not from the Treaty but from our failure to heed its terms. The important point is that there was, and still is, room for an agreement to be made.” These words are important because they remind us that at the genesis of the Treaty was a solemn commitment for two parties to live together. We have to remember that when the Treaty was signed in 1840, the population was something like 200,000 Māori and 2,000 Pākehā. It does not make sense that those chiefs who signed the Treaty would voluntarily give up power to a visitor, so to speak. Our Māori ancestors pursued this pathway to ensure the continuation of Māori authority, which continues to be debated.

Let me return to Anzac Day, which is very significant to us. Last century in Parliament Sir Apirana Ngata described the participation of Māori in the war effort as “the price of citizenship”. His enduring battle cry was that Māori sacrifice and service in the name of war should be honoured with the recognition of full and equal citizenship as promised in the Treaty of Waitangi.

And so all of these statements pertain to us now. Therefore, we are delighted this debate is before Parliament. The Māori Party endorses the essence of this bill and we support the public delving into the complex aspects of this matter as I repeat two calls: “honour the Treaty” and “the price of citizenship”. Leave the debate about money for another time. Thank you.]

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Kia ora koutou, and kia ora to that member, Te Ururoa Flavell. I want to take members’ memories back to earlier this year when we enjoyed fine weather across the country on both Waitangi Day and Anzac Day. We had record crowds around the country commemorating those events and people spending time with their families, friends, and loved ones. But the year before last, and last year, people missed out on their full complement of holidays. This year, by contrast, we had increased commemorations and increased celebrations. I am looking forward to this bill, the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, passing through the House so that hard-working Kiwis can get the holidays they deserve every year, not just in 5 years out of 7.

I want to acknowledge again at this point the contribution of Grant Robertson, who originally drafted this bill. His astuteness needs to be put on the record. I have been proud to sponsor this bill, because it is a good bill. It is a bill that is about a fair deal for Kiwi families. There are 11 public holidays in the Holidays Act, and we deserve all 11. This bill makes sure we get them all. The growing significance of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day to our sense of history and identity as New Zealanders means that they deserve full recognition—full recognition, in the same way that other holidays get full recognition.

I want to take a minute just to contemplate what we have heard from the other side of the House in this debate. The strongest argument, perhaps, if we could call it that, has been put forward by David Bennett, who announced that we should not fix this problem, because it does not happen again for a while. I want to suggest that that is akin to not fixing the roof because it is not raining. The problem is here in front of us. We have the opportunity to fix it, and we should get on with it. The only other argument I have heard put forward by the members opposite, outside this Chamber, is that it somehow demeans the day. That is rubbish. We know that they Mondayise Anzac Day and their national day in Australia, and attendances at both events have gone up. In 2010 when Christmas was celebrated on a weekend no one thought the celebration should be put off. They celebrated it on 25 December, and the celebration was no less sincere because the day fell on a weekend and because they got an extra holiday and some time with their families on the day after Boxing Day.

It is interesting that today Mind Your Own Business released the results of a survey it conducted last year, when it asked its members—businesses—what they thought of the proposal to Mondayise, and 50 percent of small to medium-sized enterprise business owners said they supported the idea of Mondayising public holidays that fall on a weekend. Just 13 percent opposed the policy. So 87 percent of small-business owners felt that it was either neutral or a beneficial thing, and that is because good business owners tend to take a positive view of policies that support their employees.

💬 Hon Member: That’s right; they do.

That is right, and I am quoting from the press release here: “the majority of business owners believe that the benefits to their employees—in having time off to spend with friends and family—and the productivity gains that come from a positive work life balance, are worth investing in.” The Labour Party agrees with that view.

There are benefits, we have heard, as well, for domestic tourism. As chief executive Martin Snedden highlighted yesterday, $36 million accrues to the economy with each of these holidays, and the Minister of Tourism, John Key, has to stand up to that industry and explain why he does not think they should get that benefit. It seems more and more that the National Government is getting offside not only with workers, by stealing their holidays from them, but also with employer groups.

The most important thing, though, that this legislation does is give hard-working Kiwis a little more time with their families. Kiwis work amongst the longest hours in the OECD. They work 1 or 2 hours extra every week more than their Australian counterparts, and they get paid less. We know that there is a correlation between productivity and countries that value their workforces. There are benefits to the economy of having well-educated, well-rested, and productive workers.

I want to thank the parties around the Parliament for their support for this bill: my Labour colleagues, of course, the Greens, New Zealand First, the Māori Party, United Future, and Mana. These parties have heard the voice of New Zealanders, unlike the party of Grinches opposite us. My bill corrects an anomaly. It offers the full recognition to Waitangi Day and Anzac Day that they deserve, and it ensures hard-working Kiwis get the holidays they deserve every year.