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

on behalf of Dr David Clark (Labour—Dunedin North): I move, That the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. As many colleagues around the House will know, Dr David Clark is on an Eisenhower Fellowship in the United States of America. He has asked me to step in and do this third reading. I am very happy to do so because this bill, the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, was in the members’ ballot originally under my name—and there is no truth to the rumour that I ordered Dr Clark away from the building so I could do this. This bill is one that was also in Darien Fenton’s name for a period of time, and I am very pleased that the Labour caucus’ members who were involved in the original drafting of the bill will now have the opportunity to speak on it.

At the very outset I would like to thank the parties that have supported this bill right from its first reading—the Green Party, New Zealand First, the Māori Party, Mana, United Future, and Brendan Horan. The support of all of those parties and MPs is much appreciated. All of those parties have taken this bill as a point of principle, and I thank them very much for sticking to their principles on this issue.

The origins of the bill were in 2010 when both Anzac Day and Waitangi Day fell on weekends and there was no holiday on Monday for either of them. That year, New Zealanders got only nine of the 11 public holidays that they are entitled to under the Holidays Act. That is not fair, and this bill seeks to give hard-working New Zealanders a fair go—time to spend with their families and to continue to commemorate these important days in our calendar, 7 years out of 7.

We do need to recognise the value of holidays to working people and indeed to businesses. Holidays are about recharging. They are about spending time with families, about enjoying recreation and downtime. They are actually very important for productivity, for good morale in the workplace. That is what holidays are for. They are not things that should be begrudged by the Government; they are things that should be supported by the Government.

It is important to note that this bill does recognise the importance and significance of these 2 days to New Zealanders. Waitangi Day is our national day, and as David Shearer and others have stated, we need to continue to work to ensure that it is both a day of reflection on our past and present and a celebration of what we have and what we can become. Anzac Day assumes a greater significance every year in our country. It does note our coming of age as a nation on the battlefields of World War I, and the sacrifice of New Zealanders then and in other conflicts that have followed. It is a day of commemoration that we hold dear and that grows in importance every single year.

Next Thursday we will commemorate Anzac Day, and thousands and thousands of New Zealanders around the country will go out to do this at Dawn Services, at community services, right around the country. That is important. It will also be a holiday. It will not diminish the day at all, as it has not done in past years. The same will now be the case as a result of this bill when the day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday.

Let me be absolutely clear. The commemorations of Anzac Day and Waitangi Day will continue to be on 25 April and 6 February every year, as they should be, but there will be a holiday every 7 out of 7 years, not just 5 out of 7 years. This is already the way that things are done in most of the states of Australia—in Western Australia, Victoria, ACT, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. All of them have—

💬 Hon Annette King: Do they care about Anzac Day?

That is right. As my colleague says: “Do they care about Anzac Day?”. You bet they do. The reports from Australia, where the Mondayisation process is in place, indicate that the numbers of people attending Anzac Day services are increasing year on year. It is also what we do for Christmas Day and Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and there is no confusion. If Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the presents are opened, people attend church services, and the only change is that the day after Boxing Day we get a holiday for it. That is what will happen in this case.

So workers support this bill in large numbers, but so do many businesses. They recognise the value of holidays for their workers. They also know that the cost of this bill is not huge. It is already dealt with, and budgeted for, by businesses, 5 out of 7 years, and it is simply a matter of making that 7 out of 7 years. In previous calls I have noted the work that David Farrar, the National Party’s pollster, has done. He has said that this represents 0.12 percent of an annual wage bill. I want to actually congratulate Mr Farrar. It is a pity he was not able to influence the National Party with his support for this bill, but employers across the board have been coming forward and supporting this legislation. I particularly want to acknowledge the Tourism Industry Association, which has strongly supported this bill. In its submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee it said that any costs associated with this bill will be outweighed by the overall economic benefit. That is a statement from the Tourism Industry Association that can be applied right across the board. Real economic benefits will occur as a result of this legislation.

Unfortunately, with all of the parties that I have mentioned, for whose support we are grateful, the National Party has yet to come around to supporting this bill. Well, it is not too late. It is not too late for the National Party to come on board, get on the right side of history, and get on the right side of the other parties in this Parliament. I have got no hope for John Banks, by the way. I am not asking for him to come on board with it, but there is a chance for the National Party to come on board today and say: “We support workers. We support workers having the ability to spend more time with their families.”

But the track record does not look good, in terms of bringing them across, because every time legislation that gives more holidays to workers comes up in this House, the National Party opposes it. When the 4 weeks’ annual leave came in, the sky did not fall in. Nothing happened that went wrong there. Business productivity and profits went up after the 4 weeks’ annual leave came in, but the National Party still opposed it. But it is not too late. National can come in and say that its commitment to supporting families actually has some reality, that it is prepared to back a piece of legislation that is going to make sure that people have more time with their families.

But the National Party’s criticisms of this bill have ranged. They have ranged from the fact that this is the end of civilisation as we know it, through to: “Why are you bothering? It doesn’t make any difference.” The National Party needs to get a consistent stance on that. But in the end, it has the chance today to get on to the right side of history and vote for this legislation. Many people have asked when this provision will next come into effect. The next time that this will happen is on 25 April 2015, when Anzac Day will fall on a Saturday, the following year Waitangi Day will fall on a Saturday, and then in 4 and 5-year gaps after that.

We on this side of the House are not pretending that this is the big issue in industrial relations. We are not saying that. What we are saying is here is an opportunity to do something. Here is an opportunity to give New Zealanders a fair go. Here is an opportunity to give New Zealanders some more time with their families. It is not the biggest thing in the world in industrial relations, but it is important. It represents an important principle—that people deserve to have holidays; that those holidays in the law, 11 public holidays, should be granted.

We know that there are bigger issues out there for workers—the loss of thousands of jobs, wages not keeping pace with the cost of living, precarious work, and the coming changes to employment law from this Government. These are all big issues and they are ones we need to be working on. This bill is not on that scale, but it can do a simple thing for workers. It can give them a fair go, it can give them time with their families, and it continues to ensure that we commemorate these important days in our calendar. This is a fine bill, and I have great pleasure in commending it to the House.

Since Mr Grant Robertson just gave the opening speech on this bill, the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, I think we all need to pay credit to Dr David Clark for the work he has done on it. This is actually his bill. I would not let Mr Robertson take credit for the bill.

💬 Grant Robertson: It was mine.

He says it was his bill, but no, David Clark is the one who has promoted this bill. David Clark is the one who has done the work on this bill, and—

💬 Hon Annette King: It was his bill first, David.

I know what you are saying, but Mr Clark is the one who actually should be promoted here today, not Mr Robertson. I think it is strange that the Labour Party members are now fighting amongst themselves over who is to take the credit for this bill. That is a very disappointing thing, but it just shows the contempt that Labour Party members hold for their own membership—the way that they treat their colleagues in this House. Today we are seeing a battle between two Labour front-benchers over who should actually take the credit for this bill when this is a serious bill.

I would like to pay tribute to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee, which actually looked at this bill and went through all the arguments in a very fair and reasonable way. It was very well led, I must admit, through the select committee consideration, and I think Mr Clark should take a lot of credit for the way he actually approached the bill, unlike other members of the Labour Party here today, who are trying to make mischief while one of their members is out of the country. It is a shame that they will do that—

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! Can I just remind the member that it is out of order to refer to someone being absent from the Chamber. All of us have to take time from the Chamber sometimes.

Yes, I understand that.

💬 Hon Annette King: How long has he been here?

Mr Clark? He has been here for just his first term. I think it is disappointing that you do that to a first-term member and try to take the credit away from him—

💬 Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The member cannot bring you into debate, and he just did.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): You are absolutely right. You cannot bring the Speaker into the debate.

Just to the people listening, I say that I think it is disappointing that we are talking about a serious bill here and the Labour Party, for the first couple of minutes of my speech, has been attacking the National Party around who is actually in control of that bill. I think that is very disappointing, coming from the Labour Party.

When we have a look at this bill, this is a bill where we understand the arguments on both sides. There are good arguments on both sides for this bill. Nobody denies the important role that holidays play in the working life of people, to give them the chance to spend time with their friends and family in the community.

We have very special days in New Zealand that are represented by holidays. Traditionally, you have the statutory holidays, the 11 basic public holidays, which are very important to our culture and our community. We also have the annual holidays that are available to New Zealanders, as well. If you look at New Zealand, you have 11 public holidays and 20 days’ minimum annual paid leave. If you go to another country like, for example, the United States, it has 10 public holidays and it has zero minimum annual paid leave. So New Zealand has a very generous system, and nobody would hold that against the New Zealand community or workers or anybody involved in the system. I think the holidays that we are talking about today, Waitangi Day and Anzac Day, are especially special days, because they represent very strong parts of our history and our country going forward, and I think nobody takes that away from those very special days.

So this is not an attack on workers, as the Labour Party will try to portray—it is far from that. It is not the situation, as Mr Robertson has tried to indicate, that the National Party does not support workers. That is not the case. This is a case where the National Party likes to take into account the full circumstances around this issue.

One of the big circumstances that I think people need to be aware of in this debate is the actual effect of this bill. In 2015 there will be 1 day that will be Mondayised, in 2016 there will be another day, and then there will be nothing until 2020. So the effect of this bill is very remote in the extreme. This is not a big bill that is going to deliver for New Zealand workers or for the New Zealand community. This is not a bill of the consequence that the Labour Party tries to portray, and it is a bit sad that it even has to fight over a bill that does not have that consequence either.

The next time this bill will be effective will be in 2015, and that will be with Anzac Day, and then in 2016 it will be with Waitangi Day. Then workers will have to wait until 2020 for the next Anzac Day.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Well, come on, move an amendment. We’ll give you leave.

So this bill does not have a lot of effect on New Zealand workers. What are you saying, Trevor?

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Add three or four more—we’ll give leave.

So Mr Mallard wants to add more days. Well, this bill does not add more days. It indicates that these days—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: That Government’s taking them away.

Oh, we are not taking them away. Mr Mallard is saying we are taking them away; that is just not the case. We have been through this before with Mr Mallard about getting the facts right. It is simply not the case that anything is being taken away.

In New Zealand we value the role that our public holidays have in our community and in our country. We understand the importance of them. The National Party, by not voting for this bill, is not attacking workers’ rights. It is merely that we represent that there are some other issues involved in this bill. For me, one of the big issues involved in this bill is that it has limited effect. Waiting until 2020 to see any effect is not a big thing. It is a bit like the Labour Party and its superannuation policy. That will not have any effect until 2025, will it? That was its last superannuation policy. It might be interesting to see how the new one actually pans out. But this bill does not have a large effect in the immediate future, and that is a shame for this House.

When we actually went through it in the select committee, there were a number of submissions in favour of this bill. I would like to thank those submitters for coming in and for the way that they did their submissions. I would like to thank the variety of submitters we had, as well.

💬 Dr Cam Calder: How many did you have?

We had numerous submissions, and there were a lot of arguments made around different sorts of issues in the bill. One of the big issues is the actual cost of the potential holiday. That is something that there was some debate within the select committee around, that cost.

💬 Dr Cam Calder: What was the cost?

Well, because the cost indicated—there is always a financial cost, if you are granting a holiday. But then there were arguments made that there is actually a financial gain too for the potential spending in such things as the tourism community and suchlike. Those are valid arguments that were put up. The select committee considered them at length and came to very good conclusions around them.

This bill is a good start by Mr Clark in his political career. It is a bill that he has portrayed and built through this House, and we commend him for that. Unfortunately, though, this bill has some issues with it. It does not have a large effect in the immediate future, and that is why it is a bit sad that the Labour Party is pinning its hopes on this bill. There are other ways that we can address these issues. I recommend to the House that this bill is something that we should consider, but, unfortunately, at this stage the National Party will not be voting for this bill.

It is with great pleasure that I speak in the third reading of the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. My only regret is that its sponsor, Dr David Clark, is not here to see it pass through this third reading. I want to send my congratulations to him in America, as I know, indeed, Grant Robertson and all of the Labour caucus do, on the great work he has done on this member’s bill. I am also acknowledging the role that Grant Robertson has played, but it has been a Labour effort, actually. We have all worked hard to see through a change that actually does change life for the better for working people.

It is not often that that happens, and it certainly never happens under a National Government, so this is a special day. This is a very special day, considering that we have had 5 years of attacks on workers’ rights. Those attacks have included a foolish dependence on being able to sack people within 90 days without reasonable justification as a job creation measure, a minimum wage that has increased by only $5.60 a week, or just 14c an hour in real terms, over the 5 years since National became the Government, and cuts to the wages of young people that come into effect on—guess which day? On 1 May—International Workers’ Day. There is a wonderful reward for young people, the hard-working young people of the country, on International Workers’ Day, 1 May!

There is more to come. We know the legislation is heading our way. The employment law changes are coming. And—you know what—the Government is even going to cut workers’ tea and meal breaks. It is even going to make cuts to the tea break, the smokers’ break—the smoko break. Hard-working New Zealanders have been forgotten by this Government. It cannot even bring itself to support what it knows in its heart of hearts is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do.

We have heard some interesting arguments through the passage of this bill, but one that has been canvassed at length by the National Party is that it undermines the special nature of Anzac Day. Anzac Day, on 25 April, has been a holiday since 1921. It was first gazetted as a half-day holiday in 1916. But back then a holiday meant a real holiday. It meant a real day off, like Sundays used to be when no shops were open—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Even Saturdays.

—even Saturdays, that is right—the pubs were shut, the local dairy was closed, and the buses did not run. That is what it used to be like.

A lot has changed through the last hundred years. There have been several amendments to the Holidays Act and there have been several amendments to the Anzac Day Act and the Waitangi Day Act. Annual leave and public holidays have been increased, without the vote of the National Party, of course—without its support. But also what has changed is that more workers are now expected to work on public holidays. So while the pubs and shops are still closed on Anzac Day morning—it is only until 1 o’clock, whereas once it was the whole day—on Waitangi Day it is a free-for-all, so everything is open. Meanwhile, despite the changes, support for Anzac Day as a day of commemoration has built over time, and people’s understanding of the importance of Waitangi Day has also increased. Nothing in this bill will change that.

Anzac Day will still be on 25 April. Dawn Services will still be held. Large crowds will still turn up to services and parades throughout the country. I will attend and remember my father and grandfather, who fought in World War I and World War II. Anzac Day will still be observed as a holiday on that day, regardless of which day of the week it is, and people who work on that day—and many do—will be paid time and a half, and they will get a different day off, with pay. Waitangi Day has a much more recent history, but its significance as a day of celebration and commemoration on 6 February will also remain the same in the same way Anzac Day will.

But to take the National Party’s argument to its logical extension, nobody in this country should be able to work on Anzac Day or Waitangi Day, because those days are just too sacred. But during this debate I have not heard one word of concern from the National Party for the thousands of workers who have to work on Anzac Day and Waitangi Day.

There has been not one word of recognition that many workers do not get a holiday at all and that for them Anzac Day and Waitangi Day are already on different days—not one word from the National Party. There has been not one word of ownership of the petty and distrustful extension of employer power that the National Government introduced in 2010, where employers can transfer Anzac Day and Waitangi Day to a different day without the consent of workers—not one word of concern from the National Party about this. Instead, there has been a whole lot of sanctimonious concern that somehow having a holiday, having these days Mondayised 1 year in 7—2 days out of every 7 years—is going to undermine the sanctity, the sacredness, of Anzac Day. The National Government brought in legislation in 2010 that allows employers to decide when Anzac Day falls or Waitangi Day falls and allows employers to decide when workers get the days off. Anzac Day for them can be any day other than 25 April. Waitangi Day for them can be any day other than 6 February.

So, let us face it, for thousands of workers in New Zealand there is no Anzac Day or Waitangi Day. It is meaningless, and for this Government to argue that this bill undermines those holidays is, quite frankly—a word that I am not allowed to use. The National Government has done away with Anzac Day and Waitangi Day for them, and now it has been crying crocodile tears. Simon O’Connor was the best—10 minutes of reading from the diary of a World War I soldier. Unbelievable. Yet it was the National Government’s legislation in 2010 that means that those 2 days just do not exist for many workers. They work on the days and they get other days off that the employer decides on. Anzac Day and Waitangi Day can be any days that the employer has decided on.

💬 Andrew Little: It’s worse if they’re an independent contractor.

Yes, of course—there are some people who get no holidays, like independent contractors, and that is another story.

Then we have had all the arguments around cost. David Bennett made a bit of a feeble attempt at it. I cannot accept that New Zealand is in such a bad state, that our businesses are so, so hard up that this will send businesses broke, as the Government has claimed, even to the extent of using its dodgy figures. It is far more honest to just accept and own up to the fact that it does not want workers to have more holidays. Employer organisations like the Employers and Manufacturers Association were very honest with us. When we asked the association whether it had ever supported more holidays, it at least owned up in the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and said no, it has never supported 4 weeks, never supported extra holidays—just like the National Government.

Then, as support has gathered for this bill, John Key has tried to do this “What, me worry?” routine—“The world’s not going to end.” I think the Government is now embarrassed that it opposed this bill. It knows that it is on the wrong side of public opinion. It knows it cannot justify its opposition, because it has already changed the law to undermine the special nature of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day. I believe that the Government knows in its heart of hearts that this bill is the right thing to do. It is a sensible bill. Kiwis know this is a fair deal. This is a great day for Kiwi workers. This is a great day for Dr David Clark. It is wonderful to see a Labour bill that will advance things for New Zealand workers in this House again. In 2014 there will be a lot more when we are the Government.

I call the honourable member Mike Sabin. Tēnā koe.

Thank you. Kia ora. I appreciate the greeting. Can I firstly take an opportunity just to acknowledge David Clark, the member introducing this bill, the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill, and—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: The reverend doctor.

That is the one. As I now understand, I can always rely on the Hon Trevor Mallard to correct me if I go astray—very helpful, very helpful. I do appreciate having a wing man with such integrity. Can I acknowledge Grant Robertson also, as the original author of this bill, and the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee. I am now a member of that select committee, but I was not involved in this process. It is worthy of acknowledging the fact that when any member sees legislation pass through this House, there has been a lot of hard work undertaken in that.

However, as members will be aware, the National Party will not be supporting this bill. For me it comes down to quite a fine balance. First and foremost for me, as a former naval officer and serviceman, the recognition of Anzac Day—the full recognition of Anzac Day—is not something that requires Mondayisation. Let us make it very clear that Anzac Day needs no form of recognition other than the fact that it is Anzac Day, a time at which this nation gathers together to remember the sacrifices and the lives that were lost in 1915 in Gallipoli, and all the other conflicts in which New Zealand servicemen have upheld the honour of this country and democracy. That is something that I do not believe needs a public holiday in order to be recognised.

💬 Darien Fenton: It already is a public holiday.

Well, it certainly does not need Mondayisation. I will come to that member’s points in due course.

For me, the special significance of that day runs the risk of being lost in the idea of a public holiday—a 3-day weekend being the reason for celebration. And as we say goodbye to the last of those most senior veterans, it falls upon the next generation and their children to pick up that baton and carry it as we remember those who survived those wars and have passed on. For me, that is something that certainly does not need the recognition of a bill such as this, which, really, in its title underpins, I think, exactly what it is about: the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. It somehow suggests that there is not adequate recognition of those days, and that by making it a long weekend we will somehow more fully recognise them. I believe that that is unnecessary.

As to the question of Waitangi Day, as a member of Parliament for Northland, again, it is a very, very special and significant day for the nation. It is a day that has seen some controversy. I remember as a policeman one or two battles of the bridge, as we used to call them up there, but I have to say that on the last Waitangi Day, this year in 2013, there was definitely a change of mood at that place where the Treaty was signed. None the less, it is a very, very significant day to this nation. It signifies the modern New Zealand that we know now. It was a starting point for that. And as a member of Parliament for that area, it is very important for me that that day is recognised for what it actually is.

Some have referred to it as New Zealand Day. In fact, members of the Labour Party in years gone by have done that. I want to read just a couple of quotes from Hansard that reflect the sentiment of the Labour Party of old. It may have some views as to what today’s Labour Party is about. I will leave that for the punters out there to speculate on.

Former Minister of Māori Affairs Matiu Rata said: “Like Anzac Day, New Zealand Day is not to be Mondayised. It is the significance of the occasion that is important rather than the fact that it is to be a paid public holiday. It should not be regarded as merely an extra paid holiday.” That is one of them.

We heard the member Darien Fenton, who spent most of her 10-minute speech talking about workers, holidays, and so on and so forth, and although everyone will accept that an honest, hard day’s work deserves recognition in terms of a break, again I come back to my original point about what these days are actually about, what they mean in the hearts and minds of New Zealanders, versus becoming some default setting as another holiday, another long weekend.

It goes on, because former Minister of Internal Affairs Mr May, also of the Labour Party, said: “The Government believes the Mondayising of New Zealand Day … would detract from the importance and significance of the event it commemorates.” Former MP Paraone Rēweti said that the committee considered that it was justified—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Who?

Do you want me to write that down for you, Mr Mallard?

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I will send it over in a note for you.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Where does he come from?

I am sure you know. You must be a great author of the Labour Party history, I am sure. That member certainly carved his name well into it.

💬 Grant Robertson: I think he was here.

Yeah, well, that is good. Then the member should know, so there is no need to ask me. I am sure he can make a mental note for himself. Mr Rēweti said that the committee considered that it was justified in declaring that Waitangi Day should not be Mondayised, because the Labour Party had gone to the electors in 1972 on the policy that Waitangi Day would not be Mondayised. If the member Trevor Mallard was here, he probably remembers a lot of those speeches. He probably remembers what the old Labour Party, the working Labour Party of old, was all about.

But I come to my point, which the member Darien Fenton has raised, and it is about the consistent attack, as she puts it, by the New Zealand National Party on the workers. That is ironic given that the member who introduced this bill, David Clark, also introduced the Minimum Wage Amendment Bill, which sought to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. If we could just legislate the minimum wage without any consequence to the employer, who ultimately has to find the means to employ that person, then why stop at $15? Why not chuck $25, $50, or maybe $100 an hour? That member David Clark considers himself to be the best spokesman on economics in 50 years, and yet he has been a member who has single-handedly introduced two members’ bills to this House, both of which have a significant fiscal consequence to the employer.

💬 Andrew Little: No, they don’t.

They do. Of course they do.

💬 Andrew Little: No, they don’t.

Well, I am not going to listen to the union strongman over there bellowing his comments from across the floor, because at the end of the day—and that member would have to recognise this—at some point, employers need to find money to pay their employees. To do that they have to be actually making a profit, and there is a very fine line there. So the member who has introduced this bill, the so-called economic spokesperson, will actually be hurting small and medium sized businesses. That is what that is about.

Can I just close by saying that I acknowledge the work that David Clark has done. I respect the parliamentary process that has been followed here, and for me this has been about a fine balance. It has been a very fine balance.

💬 Andrew Little: You know you want to vote for it. Come on, Mike.

No, I certainly will not be. I certainly will not be. It has been a fine balance, and for me it falls on the side of those servicemen in particular. As we approach Anzac Day can I just acknowledge those fallen soldiers and servicemen from across New Zealand who have served this country so well in upholding our place in the world and doing our bit and far more, those veterans who have survived those wars, and the existing servicemen who are out there serving our country today.

On Anzac Day I will proudly be standing there to commemorate and to acknowledge those people. I wonder whether Mr Clark will be confronted with a little bit of flack as a result of this bill. Can I close by saying that Anzac Day is a very important day to all New Zealanders, and I look forward to this Anzac Day to celebrate, commemorate, and remember those who have fallen. Lest we forget.

Tēnā koe. I am pleased to take a short call on this Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill to affirm the Green Party’s support for this very good bill. Our compliments to whatever combination of Labour hearts and minds brought it into being. It is a very well-thought-out and quite simple piece of legislation. It simply affirms that every year New Zealanders will enjoy 11 public holidays rather than having them in only 5 years out of 7 years, and missing out in those other 2 years.

I am genuinely surprised that Government members have not come round to supporting this legislation. I have listened reasonably carefully to their speeches in various readings, and that is not always an enjoyable experience, listening to speeches from that side of the House, but it has been interesting to just try to unpick what their objections are.

My fellow Northlander Mike Sabin, who just resumed his seat, gave a very sincere speech reflecting on his commitment to Anzac Day. I would have to say that if I thought, or if any of my Green colleagues thought, that the passing of this legislation would in any way diminish or degrade the importance or the integrity of that celebration, we would probably not—well, in fact, I can say certainly I would not support it, and I suspect neither would my colleagues.

Anzac Day is critically important. I confess in my former life I was more or less committed to attending services on any given Anzac Day. As an MP I have also seen it as an absolute duty to turn up at local celebrations, and also a pleasure. It is an important day in our history and one we should continue to acknowledge.

The proposition that somehow Mondayising Anzac Day will lead to less commitment to it and a smaller turnout to honour that day is at odds with the evidence from Australia where Mondayisation has been in place for some time, and the numbers, if anything, are increasing for attendances at Anzac Day celebrations, as indeed they are here in New Zealand as younger people realise this is not about the glorification of war. It is about acknowledging sacrifice and also a commitment to doing everything we can to avoid wars in the future.

Some of the objection to this bill has been around the economic effect—the effect on business. Again I simply do not see that as being valid. We heard some extraordinary numbers in the first reading, about the tens of millions of dollars it would cost the country every year to have two more days off, 2 years out of 7 years. Those numbers simply do not add up. Some businesses will close, obviously, on days that otherwise they would not, but that is more than compensated for in the scheme of things around the larger economic picture by the fact that the Mondayisation will enable people to have extra time off. Long weekends will become feasible. There will be a knock-on effect in tourism and elsewhere. So we do not accept that there is any economic difficulty or issue involved in that.

It contributes to our work-life balance. New Zealanders actually work some of the longest hours of any developed country in the world. Unfortunately that does not flow through to productivity, which I will say a little more about in a moment, but we are just making sure that we do maximise the work-life balance opportunities for people in the workplace, and this bill does make a small but useful contribution towards that.

Mr Bennett seemed concerned that the bill did not go far enough, that somehow its effect was so little as to not warrant his support. I am somewhat tempted to dust off the Green Party’s April Fool’s Day spoof that suggested another eight holidays per year. We might find support for that from the MP from Hamilton. But it does seem an extraordinary proposition that because this is a relatively minor matter, albeit a positive matter, it cannot be supported for that reason.

I have mentioned Anzac Day, and Waitangi Day too is an important observation in our history. It is very important to us collectively, and personally it is an important day. I have both Māori and Pākehā tupuna who put their names to that document, put their signatures on it, so it has always been very much a part of my personal DNA. While living in the north—well, even before living in the north—I have been a regular attendee at Waitangi Day celebrations in Waitangi. It is noticeable that where Waitangi Day falls on a weekend you tend to find a different attendance than through the normal course of events. The day of the week on which it falls does affect the attendance at Waitangi, people’s travel arrangements, and so on. The situation where it falls on a Saturday or Sunday and people know that the Monday is also a holiday will, I think, enable more people to come to Waitangi and enjoy the celebration at that very key site.

It will do no harm for Northland tourism. As we know, Northland is one of the still relatively undiscovered gems in the tourism crown of New Zealand. There is a great deal to enjoy there. There is an increasing supply of tourism attractions and accommodation, and I would encourage people who are heading north to hang around a while and see just what a great deal there is to offer in the north.

I mentioned the issue of holidays—the fact that people seem to think that if we have one more holiday in each of those 2 years that somehow there will be an economic cost to that. As to the number of holidays New Zealanders have, be they large or small—you can argue about whether 11 is a lot or a few—our key economic issue around that is actually productivity. We do not have a productive economy. The reason for that is that the one significant, and probably the single most important, contributor to that low productivity is poor labour productivity. I believe firmly that the reason for that is that we have a very poor management culture in New Zealand. We have too many people in management positions who are actually not good at that task. We have this unfortunate habit of promoting people who might be good at a particular activity to a management role. This has been acknowledged by employer groups, by employee groups, by the finance sector, by bankers, and by a whole array of different sectors and different interests in the economy.

The issues are not about whether we have 11 days off a year, or only 9, or 10. The issue is that we do not invest enough in management and upskilling our managers in New Zealand. If we invest a little bit there we will get a great deal more productivity in our economy. People perhaps could stop working such extraordinarily long hours, with no economic cost, and in fact with significant economic benefit.

All in all, as I said, the Greens have been pleased to support this legislation from the beginning. We will continue to offer that support, and we look forward to in future years enjoying with the rest of New Zealand the time that it will allow for people to maintain work-life balance, to spend time with their families, and to enjoy this beautiful country of ours. We commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.

It is a great pleasure to take a call on the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. This is a very important bill.

I want to acknowledge the work of Dr David Clark, my colleague, who picked up this bill from Grant Robertson and also from Darien Fenton. I wanted to add that, because, as we know, success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. Although, of course, when I say success has many fathers, I might say in light of the debate yet to come that success has many parents, and for those who have just tuned in their radios and their TVs, when I say success has many parents, I am talking in relation to the Mondayisation bill. I am not promoting polygamy; I am just saying, as a saying, that success has many parents and failure is an orphan. My contribution to the Mondayisation bill, which we are debating now, is that Grant Robertson had a conversation with me as he was drafting it, so I feel that even my paw prints sit over this very important piece of legislation.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: I’m sure all of us talked to him while he was drafting it. Was it about this?

Well, I am not saying he talked to me exclusively about it, but I feel as if—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: But did he discuss the bill with you?

He discussed the bill with me even before I arrived here.

I do not want to get into conspiracy theories about the old Labour Party and being driven by the unions, because that certainly was not the case. But, in response to my colleague Mike Sabin’s arguments about the old Labour Party versus the new, I want to say about the old National Party that when it comes to labour rights, it was the old National Party that actually introduced the first personal grievance law in this House, in 1970. That was a National Party that respected workers and workers’ organisations. That was a National Party that actually wanted workers to have a good relationship with their employer, to be respected, and to have fair processes. What a sea change we have in the National Party of today, and perhaps I will come back to that when I have a moment.

What I also want to say to Mike Sabin is that this bill is not about not observing Anzac Day and Waitangi Day on the days they fall. Of course we will continue to do that. These are important days. These are the days, and, indeed, the events that sit behind them, that define us as a nation. We will always observe them, and we will observe them with great emotion, great consideration, and great compassion towards those who have gone before us for the contribution they have made in the case of each of them. But what this does do, at least in relation to those years in which the days fall on a weekend day—actually observing the following Monday as a holiday enhances our observation of them, and the commemoration or the celebration of those particular days.

This bill fulfils the promise of the Holidays Act, which is to grant 11 days’ public holiday to every worker, every year. That is an important thing and an important achievement. It fulfils the promise of a modern and civilised society and an economy that not only recognises the contribution of working people but recognises important events in our history and allows us, as a community, to commemorate them and celebrate them as appropriate.

Let us not forget that in around about the last 15 years, there has been a 25 percent increase in productivity and value in this country, whereas real wages have increased barely 10 percent over the same period of time. There is no loss to business, not in any aggregate sense at least, anyway. There is no loss to business in the 2 years out of 7 years that this bill will allow extra days to be granted to workers in observation and commemoration of these very important days. As David Clendon said in his contribution, we are a nation that over the last 20 years has shown that we are working longer hours, on average, and we are not being paid commensurately for those additional hours. We are not getting the reward. This might be seen, for those who see some economic difficulty in it, to provide just some little extra reward for those extra hours worked and the extra productivity produced in our economy as a whole.

The truth is that this bill has widespread support across New Zealand, not only amongst working people but across many businesses, not the least of which is the Tourism Industry Association, which represents literally hundreds of businesses, big and small, in this economy. It has a very important role to play. In fact, the tourism industry is so important that this Government is about to grant an additional $158 million over 4 years to it. That is how much importance this Government sees the tourism industry having. Quite why it does not listen to it on issues like this, I do not understand, although I can explain it when I go back to the issues about the modern National Party and its attitude to workers and workers’ rights.

Responsible regulation in the labour market simply means ensuring fairness. This bill is an example of responsible regulation, and it is a bill that will ensure greater fairness for working people. This bill adds that. This bill—what it does; all it does—adds a maximum of 2 days’ leave in 2 years out of every 7 years—2 years out of every 7 years. This is not going to break the bank of New Zealand productivity, or the bank of New Zealand business. It is a fair recognition of something that, actually, our Holidays Act already promises but does not, so far, deliver. This will continue genuine observance of these important commemorative days when they would otherwise fall on a weekend.

Let us talk about Anzac Day, because we are on the eve of Anzac Day week. When we think about Anzac Day, we know that young New Zealanders, predominantly men—in fact, it was all men—were conscripted into the army to go and fight thousands of miles away. That is important to us, because actually one of the driving forces for the founding of the Labour Party was an opposition to conscription. Young men were conscripted to fight in a war many thousands of miles away. They accepted the argument that this was for Queen and country, it was for a lifestyle, and it was for a sense of freedom. It was not to work longer hours. It was not to lift their productivity by 25 percent and get nothing for it. That is not what young soldiers fought for in World War I. They fought for a set of values and for greater freedom, and this bill properly and truly recognises the sacrifice that was made, because it represents greater freedom—the freedom to spend time with one’s family and the freedom to express oneself how one wishes in one’s own time.

That is what this bill does, and we should respect it and support it for that reason. It is about putting work in balance with the rest of one’s life. That is the challenge of life in the modern world, and this bill will help us to achieve that. It is about good rights at work.

When we think about Waitangi Day, and we think about the historical origins of that day and about rights to citizenship, this bill is about conferring not only citizenship but “humanship”, if you like. It is about the humanity of each of us—the right to have time off to mark important historical events, to commemorate them within our communities, and to celebrate them where that is required. When we think about kāwanatanga and tino rangatiratanga, working longer hours and being deprived of the right to observe those important days is not what the Treaty of Waitangi stands for. It stands for people being people, and that, if anything, is what the Treaty of Waitangi is about—people.

So this bill is very important. This bill is very important, because it is a chance for us to express our nationhood and those 2 important days on a real day by having the world of commerce stop for a moment and take a step back in years in which it would otherwise not do so on these 2 important days, so that we can all observe them.

I started this contribution by talking about the new National Party. Look at everything it has done when it comes to work rights. Every time this Government comes to turn its attention to work rights, it is about taking away. It is about detracting from workers and their rights, whether it is the 90-day trial period, whether it is changing the test on personal grievances—a piece of law that actually originated from a progressive, liberal National Party, which we do not have today and we do not have any more. When we think about access rights at work, when we think about the rights of workers to have a say over when they take their holidays, every time this Government turns its attention to work rights, it takes something away from workers.

Well, thank goodness for the Labour Party. Thank goodness for the Labour Party, and at least in Opposition, with good members like Grant Robertson, Dr David Clark, and Darien Fenton, we have the ability to introduce laws like this and get them passed for the good of all New Zealand. That is why we are supporting this bill.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe i tēnei ahiahi. I te wā tuatahi i tū au mō tēnei o ngā pire i te tau kua hipa ake, anei taku kōrero: “I a tātau e kōrero nei mō tēnei o ngā pire, e rua ngā take nui whakaharahara, e pīrangitia nei e au, 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.” Koinā taku kōrero i te wā i tū ake au i te pānuitanga tuatahi o tēnei o ngā pire.

Ko tā mātau aronga nui mō tēnei o ngā pire ko tērā e pā ana ki ngā kaupapa e rua nei, ko Te Tiriti o Waitangi ka mutu, ko te rā o Tūmatauenga, arā, e kī ana te kōrero ko Anzac; kaua ko te aronga ki te moni ka kore e kitea e te pūkoro o ngā kaituku mahi; kaua ko te haerenga ki tātahi ki reira ruku kina ai, pāinaina rānei i te rā ēngari, ko te tino pūtake o tēnei o ngā whenua i ahu mai ai i roto i te āhuatanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka tahi, nā wai, nā wai ko te rā o Anzac, arā, te rā o Tūmatauenga e iri nei i te pakitara ā-whare i tēnei wā.

Kei reira tonu kei te Wāhanga 4 o tēnei pire te pūtake o tēnei pire. Kia huri ki te reo Pākehā mō te wā poto. In clause 4 of this bill, the aim is “to amend the … [Holidays Act 2003] to provide for the transfer of the public holidays for Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day if they fall on a weekend.” Ko te tino pūtake o tēnei pire, me kī, te tikanga ia e hāngai tonu ana ki tēnei mea te kotahitanga o Aotearoa. E kī ana ētahi, he iwi kotahi tātau, e kī ana ētahi, ko te whakakotahitanga o Aotearoa, Pākehā mai, Māori mai. Ki a mātau, koinei kei te tino pūtake o tēnei pire.

Ka mutu tērā pea, ka kitea mai ai ko te hōhonutanga o tēnei kaupapa, mēnā i tiro, i kite tātau i te Pouaka Whakaata Māori i te tau kua hipa, arā, i te wā i whakanuia ai ko te rā o Anzac. I taua wā, i taua hōtaka, i kite mātau, tātau pea; ko Mātai Smith i te Kāreti o Te Aute tērā o ngā kura rongonui o Te Ao Māori. I te wā o nehe, ko Te Aute tētahi o ngā kura tino rongonui. Anā, ko ētahi o ngā tama i haere ki tāwāhi, otirā, i eke atu ki roto i te 28, arā, ko te 28th Māori Battalion. E ai ki tāku e mōhio nei, 250 ngā tama o tērā kura i haere i raro i te parirau o te 28 ki te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao. Ko tētahi o rātau ko Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu. Ko ia tērā i whiwhi nei i te Rīpeka o Wikitōria mō tōna māia i te mura o te ahi.

Nā, i a au otirā, i a tātau pea e mātakitaki ana i tērā; ka rongo koe i te ngākaunui o ngā tama Māori ki ngā āhuatanga o te hunga i tae atu ki tērā kura, o te hunga i haere anō hoki ki tāwāhi ki te mura o te ahi. I whakanuia ko te 28. Ki taku mōhio, koinei te āhuatanga o Te Ao Māori, ahakoa pēhea te āhuatanga o tēnei mea o te pakanga: ko te ngākau o Te Ao Māori tino kaha whai nei, whakanui nei i te 28. Nā runga i te aha? Nā runga i ngā kōrero i puta mai i te wā i a rātau e haere ana ki tāwāhi.

He pērā anō hoki ki Te Tai Tokerau, arā, ki Whangarei, ki tētahi kaupapa hōu nei kua tipu ake i ngā tau kua hipa, ko te Leadership Academy o Kamupene A; tētahi wāhanga o te 28. Ki taku mōhio, 18 ngā tama o roto o Whangarei e whai nei i ngā tapuwae o te 28—he tamariki, he āhua tamariki nei. Ko te tikanga o te haere ki tēnei kaupapa, tēnei akoranga, tēnei academy, ko te tika o te tū, ko te aronganui ki te tangata, ko te māia, ko te angitu ki te whai kaupapa ki tōna mutunga.

Ko ētahi o ngā tama i roto i tēnei kaupapa, arā, te leadership academy, ko rātau ngā uri o te hunga i haere ki tāwāhi. He māia te tū, āhua rite, me kī, ki a Tūmatauenga i tōna pūtake kia tika te kākahu, ka tirohia te āhuatanga o ngā moenga ka mutu, ko te pakari ā-tinana ēnei āhuatanga katoa. Koinei ngā kaupapa ka whaiwhai haeretia e tēnei hunga. Ko te aronganui kia tū Māori tonu ēnei tama, kia mōhio mai ai ko wai rātau, kia mōhio mai ai ko te waihotanga mai o te hunga kua ngaro i te tirohanga kanohi, kia mōhio rātau he uri nō tērā hunga, he uri nō ngā rangatira i haere ki tua o te pae ēngari, ko te hunga i haere ki te pakanga. Nā, mā ēnei akoranga ka mōhio mai ai he rā nui, whakaharahara te rā o Anzac. Ka mutu, ko ēnei uri e whai nei i tērā kaupapa i tēnei rā tonu nei, ahakoa, arā, kei te whakanui tātau i te hunga kua ngaro.

Kia hoki mai au ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ki taku mōhio, ka whakaiti tātau i te tino pūtake o tēnei pire mēnā ko tā tātau ko te nui o te utu ki runga i ngā tāngata tuku mahi ki tēnā, ki tēnā. Ka aroha hoki i te mea, kei te whakanui tātau i te hunga i mate mō te painga o Aotearoa. Kei reira te tino kaupapa nui. Kaua ko te pūtea i tōna kotahi, kaua ko te whakatā i tōna kotahi ēngari me hoki mai tātau ki te kotahitanga o tēnei whenua o Aotearoa. Ka pūtake mai tō tātau hītori i te āhuatanga o te nohotahi o tātau o Te Ao Pākehā me tātau o Te Ao Māori i raro i Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nō reira, he kaupapa nui tēnei.

Me kī, 5 tau kua hipa ka puta te kōrero i a Carol Archie, he kaituhi tēnei wahine i Waitangi ia, ka mutu, i puta tētahi kōrero i a ia mō te āhuatanga o te kaupapa nei o Waitangi. Anei tana kōrero, ka huri ki te reo Pākehā. Carol Archie, about 5 years ago at Waitangi, said these words: “People in Māori/ Pākehā families say it’s not easy to either marry someone from another culture or to be the children of such a union. But most enjoy being able to walk between cultures with comfort and the chance to understand life from different perspectives. I feel excited about it because they’re doing the groundwork to help us understand who we’re becoming as a nation.” Taku mōhio me pērā wā tātau whakaaro mō te āhuatanga o tā tātau noho. Arā anō ngā Minita Māori e kōrerohia ake nei i pūtake mai ai i Ingarangi, arā, ko Dover Samuels tērā nō roto Ingarangi. Ko Sharples, nō te clan o Bolton i Ingarangi. Ko wā tātau mokopuna he kahurangi ngā karu. Ka moe te Pākehā i te Māori, te Māori i te Pākehā, kei reira tonu wā tātau whakapapa e whakakotahi nei i raro i te āhuatanga o te aroha o tētahi ki tētahi.

Ka mutu, kai hea ēnei kōrero e haere ana? Ko tāku, ko te tino painga o tēnei momo pire mō te kaupapa o Dr David Clark, ko tēnei private member’s bill kua whakatuwhera nei i te āhuatanga o te kōrero o te kotahitanga o Aotearoa. Koinā tētahi o ngā tino painga. Mā reira kua mōhio tātau ki ō tātau hītori, ka mutu, kei te tino ngako o tēnei pire, ko wā tātau nohotahitanga ka mutu, ko te kaupapa nui o Te Tiriti o Waitangi i roto i wā tātau kōrero.

Ehara i te mea he nui ngā kōrero i tua atu o tērā. Nā mātau te kōrero ki te David Clark nei, te mema nei āe, ka tuku te Pāti Māori i ōna pōti e toru. Āhua uaua i ētahi wā nā te mea, kua puta ētahi o ngā Minita, kua hoki mai ētahi Minita ēngari, ko tāku ki te mema, ki a Mr Grant Robertson, i tēnei wā koirā te waha kōrero, te tangata i wāwāhi i ngā kōrero, kei te whakaae atu te Pāti Māori ki te tuku i te pōti tautoko i tēnei pire, me te mihi ki te mema nāna anō tēnei kaupapa i kōkiri ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata. He mea pai tēnei. Ko tā te Pāti Māori he tautoko, he tautoko, he tautoko. Kia ora tātau.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. Huge salutations to you. When I rose for the first time to speak at the first reading of this bill last year, this is what I said: “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.” That was in my address at the first reading of this bill.

Our main focus as far as this bill is concerned is on these two matters, the Treaty of Waitangi and the God of War day, otherwise referred to as Anzac Day. It is not about employers being out of pocket, going to the beach to dive for sea urchins, or basking in the sun, but rather because this country was founded on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi—that is one—and eventually, over time, Anzac Day, God of War day, which adorn the walls of this chamber currently.

The essence of this bill is very much there in Part 4 of this bill. Let me turn to English for a short moment. In clause 4 of this bill, the aim is “to amend the … [Holidays Act 2003] to provide for the transfer of the public holidays for Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day if they fall on a weekend.” The real essence or meaning of this bill, shall we say, relates directly to the unity of New Zealand. According to some, we are one people; others say it is the oneness of New Zealand, Pākehā and Māori. To us, this is the real crux of this bill.

Furthermore, the depth of this matter would have been noted if we looked at and watched Māori Television last year when Anzac Day was being celebrated. At that time on that programme we—all of us, perhaps—saw that Mātai Smith was attending that famous school of Māoridom Te Aute College. Te Aute was one of the greatest schools in the past. Some of the boys went overseas, enlisted in the 28th Māori Battalion. My understanding was that 250 students of that school served under the wing of the 28th Battalion in the Second World War. One of them was Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu. He was the one awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour at the battle-front.

When I was—indeed, all of us, perhaps, were—watching that programme, you experienced the commitment of those Māori boys who attended that school and the commitment of those as well who went overseas to the battle-front. It was the 28th Battalion that was honoured. My understanding is that this is the situation in Māoridom regardless of the nature of this thing about warfare: feelings among Māoridom for the 28th Battalion are very, very strong. The battalion is celebrated greatly as well. On what grounds? Because of the accounts that emerged at the time they were heading overseas.

It is like that as well up north in Whangarei in regards to one of these new initiatives, the Leadership Academy of A Company, a division of the 28th Battalion that has developed over the past years. I understand there are 18 boys from within Whangarei following in the footsteps of the 28th Battalion—mere children, youngish. The motive for going to this scheme, training, academy is to become disciplined, focused on people, bold, and successful in pursuing something to its conclusion.

Some of the lads in this leadership academy are descendants of those who served overseas. They stand with bearing just like one in the army, correctly dressed and where beds are inspected. Furthermore, there is physical training and all these sorts of things. These are matters that these young ones will address. The focus is that these sons be Māori in every way, know who they are, know the legacy left by those who are no longer alive, and know they are relatives of theirs and of the esteemed ones who have passed over the divide and went to the war. It is through these teachings that they will become aware of how important and extraordinary Anzac Day is. Furthermore, these are the relatives who continue to pursue that aspect today even though we are celebrating those who have gone.

Let me come back to the Treaty of Waitangi. To me, we will denigrate the real purpose of this bill if we focus on how much employers pay each worker. I empathise because we are commemorating those who died for the good of New Zealand. And that is where the real crux of the matter is. It is not about the money or the holiday on its own; we need to come back to the unity of this country, New Zealand. Our history evolved from how we of Pākehādom and Māoridom lived under the auspices of the Treaty of Waitangi. So this is an important matter.

Five years ago, shall we say, this woman Carol Archie, a writer, made a statement at Waitangi about the situation there. Here is what she said. I will relate it in English. Carol Archie, about 5 years ago at Waitangi, said these words: “People in Māori/ Pākehā families say it’s not easy to either marry someone from another culture or to be the children of such a union. But most enjoy being able to walk between cultures with comfort and the chance to understand life from different perspectives. I feel excited about it because they’re doing the groundwork to help us understand who we’re becoming as a nation.” What I make of the situation is that our thinking about how we live should be like that. There are other Māori Ministers referred to here, like Dover Samuels, whose name originated from England. The name Sharples is from the Bolton clan in England. Our grandchildren have blue eyes. When a Pākehā marries a Māori, and a Māori marries a Pākehā, our bloodlines are still there being combined under the love of one for the other.

So where are these comments heading to? For me particularly, the real benefit of this kind of bill belonging to Dr David Clark, this private member’s bill, is that it has opened up discussions on the oneness of New Zealand. That is one of its real benefits. Through that we will understand our history, the gist of this bill, our living together as one, and eventually the main theme of the Treaty of Waitangi in our comments.

There is not much more to add to the debate. We assured this David Clark, this member, that, yes, the Māori Party is going to cast its three votes. It is difficult sometimes because Ministers come and go, but I can assure the member Mr Grant Robertson, who at this stage is presiding over proceedings, that the Māori Party agrees to cast its vote in favour of this bill and congratulates the member who brought this bill before Parliament. This is a wonderful outcome. The Māori Party supports, approves, and endorses it. Congratulations to us collectively.]

On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to support the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. New Zealand First is very pleased that this bill has now reached its final stages. We would like to extend our congratulations to Dr David Clark on having achieved a real milestone with this bill. Very few Opposition MPs ever—ever—have one of their bills pass into law from this side of the House. It is a very rare event, so we are very pleased. We are pleased, too, that there is widespread support on this side of the House for the whole bill, and we are very happy to share in Dr Clark’s success. We are sure that there is some reluctant support across the other side of the House, as well, from the National members, and I know their speeches have not had any really valid reasons as to why this bill should not be supported.

Without a doubt, Dr Clark, or perhaps even Labour, will be on the minds of many Kiwis up and down the country on 25 April 2015, the very first year that is affected by this legislation. Many will not remember or will not even care, but they will be grateful for the Mondayisation of Anzac Day. Like the majority of New Zealanders, New Zealand First is really pleased to see this bill finally passing into law.

As it currently stands, we believe that Waitangi Day and Anzac Day have been given second-class status among our public holidays. It is simply not good enough. We have Mondayisation of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and there have been absolutely no problems whatsoever, so there should be no problems forthcoming with the Mondayisation of Anzac Day or Waitangi Day. These 2 days stand out amongst our annual holidays, in so far as they are applicable to all New Zealanders—each and every one of us. Irrespective of background or creed, whether you grew here or flew here, these are the 2 days that mark us all as New Zealanders. They are our 2 national days.

We have heard right throughout the progression of this bill how much demand there is for the full recognition of these days. Research shows that over 80 percent of New Zealanders and the majority of businesses have welcomed Dr Clark’s proposal in this bill. It makes sense, it provides a consistency, it is a good deal for workers and for businesses alike, and New Zealanders know this. The taxi driver who picked me up from the airport this week said that he cannot wait for this bill to pass into law. People are talking about it. They value the role that holidays have. We know it is realistic to say that New Zealanders do not work from 9 to 5 any more and this bill will help that work-life balance.

Both Waitangi Day and Anzac Day will not have their symbolism eroded or their special character taken away by these changes. On 6 February New Zealanders right throughout the country will mark the date of the signing of New Zealand’s founding document. We will reflect on past injustices. We will further reflect on the reconciliation process and look at how we might best move forward as a united country and a united people. Waitangi Day is something that sets New Zealand apart. It is a day of recognition of the past, of hope for the future, and of unity. The mere fact that thousands of New Zealanders and expats in London come together on Waitangi Day to commemorate the occasion shows that even Kiwis overseas have got a really strong affinity for this day. How could Mondayisation, having an extra day off if Waitangi Day falls on the weekend, really pose a problem?

The other important day that is affected by this legislation is Anzac Day—another one of our national days. It is a day on which we give thanks to those who paid the ultimate price for protecting the liberties of New Zealanders and others. Next Thursday we commemorate Anzac Day, and no doubt every single one of us in this House will attend an Anzac Day service. The Anzac experience brought about a really strong bond between New Zealand and Australia, recognising our common heritage, our geography, and our way of life. An increasing number of people, and young people in particular, are now attending Anzac Day dawn ceremonies. I know. I always attend my local Dawn Service in my town. They are eager to learn about the history and the symbolism, and to share in the sense of camaraderie on Anzac Day. Many of these young New Zealanders proudly wear their great-grandfathers’ medals on their chests, pinned to their chests—very proud.

It is very interesting to note that the same thing is happening in Australia. People young and old are actively engaged in commemorating their heroes. All of this is despite the fact that in Australia they have already Mondayised Anzac Day, with no detrimental effect whatsoever. Kiwis up and down the country knew that they were being robbed by a quirk of the system when they did not get their 11 days of public holidays, and we always accepted it as a part of life. This bill is going to remedy this anomaly and streamline how we treat public holidays. On 2 days in every 7 years there will be the extra holiday.

The tourism industry supports this bill. They can see only positive outcomes from this change, as people will travel to other centres around New Zealand that they previously have not travelled to, or never had the time to actually travel to. This bill has the support of workers, it has the support of businesses, it has the support of tourism, and it definitely has the support of New Zealand First. Thank you.

It is a pleasure to rise and speak on the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. I wish to acknowledge the contribution of my colleague Barbara Stewart, across the House—a very eloquent presentation. However, it has not been enough to get me to change my mind on this bill, despite the eloquence. I wish to acknowledge Grant Robertson and Dr David Clark, because it is always a pleasure to have a bill come before the House that one has crafted, in Grant’s case—before he handed it on to Dr David Clark. I am hoping to have my own bill come quite soon to this House, and I look forward to that. So I can empathise with the work done by Dr David Clark.

Despite the eloquence of previous speakers, I have a visceral distaste for this bill, and I was just searching back as to why this should be. I guess the reason comes from the huge respect I have—and I am not suggesting other people in the House do not have that—for members of our armed forces, men and women, who have served. Where does this stem from? I spoke in the House some weeks ago on this very bill. My grandfather served in the Boer War. So I grew up being aware of the sacrifices made by, actually, thousands of New Zealanders very early in our history—

💬 Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: The Boer war? Crikey.

In the Boer War—in the Boer War.

💬 Hon Member: Which side?

He was a member of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles. He had to take his own horse, as I recall. He used to entertain me as a young lad with stories upon his knee. As I was growing up—I lost my dad when I was 6—I was taught to shoot, and I built a pram dinghy with my neighbour Ron Carr, now deceased, whom I would like to pay tribute to in this House, who was a World War II veteran and who also served in the Korean War. I remember playing in the back garden with a Japanese jungle carbine that he had miraculously brought back from the campaign that he served in. I learnt how to handle weapons with him, going out shooting rabbits in the foothills of Mount Egmont, as we used to call it then, or Mount Taranaki. Both names pertained at that stage. Look, this background is just trying to shape my distaste for this bill, because I have always honoured this day. Anzac Day has stood alone—

💬 Hon Members: We all have.

I know you are saying across the House that it in no way detracts—personally, I believe it was raised above other days of significance by the fact that is was not always a holiday. I felt, and I have said it in this House before, that that was a way we could give credit and acknowledge the sacrifice made by generations who have gone before and who in many cases paid the ultimate price. For us to give up a holiday once in a blue moon is no sacrifice at all. So that is shaping my view.

I also did a territorial officer selection board as a young lad and became a member of “the blue berets”. As many of you know, “the blue berets” are the members of the Otago University Medical Company who went off to serve in Viet Nam. At the time when they were called—two officers went every year—I would have gone were it not for the fact that, fortunately for the Viet Namese, the peace process intervened. For a young lad from the Naki who was keen to go and serve in a medical corps, it was a huge disappointment for me personally, but a great joy for everybody else involved in that horrible, ugly conflict. We were going to patch people up, not to lay waste to them.

💬 Todd McClay: You’re not a very good shot.

As has been pointed out by my colleague Todd McClay, with one eye I probably wasn’t a very good shot, but that was not what we were going there for.

It is probably appropriate to mention the extremely hard work done by one of the legendary chairmen of select committees. I refer, of course, to David Bennett. David Bennett is a legendary chairman of select committees and it was his Transport and Industrial Relations Committee that saw the submissions and dealt with submissions. Were there many? There were not many. In fact, only 32 submissions on this bill were received: 18 submitters supported the bill and 12 submitters opposed the bill. The chairman has actually pointed out that there were some good arguments for and against this bill. There were arguments that came through in opposition to the bill. So what were some of these key themes?

Well, as we have heard, the bill would create additional costs. And what would some of these costs be? The cost to the employers estimated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is an estimated impact of $220 million to $280 million. That is not insignificant. The cost to the whole economy output estimated by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research is $134 million to $186 million. These are not insignificant. So that was one of the thoughts. Some of the submitters thought that it might diminish the significance of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day. It could create further unfairness, it could create further confusion—these were some of the comments made—and it could encourage a change in shift and roster patterns. Those were themes coming out in opposition to the bill.

One of the submitters in opposition was Business New Zealand. If I can be a little bit more specific here, some of the points it made in its submissions are as follows. In its opposition to change it said there was little basis for change. I have to accept that. I mean, this is a meaty, beefy, big and bouncy, compact, and perky little member’s bill. I have already paid my respects to Grant Robertson, and to Dr David Clark as well.

Anzac Day and Waitangi Day are noted by the submitters, Business New Zealand, as being specific to New Zealand and as commemorative days. Business New Zealand makes the point that “This is in contrast to Christmas Day and New Year’s Day which are not”—and this is a surprising point, and it has a point here—“days of significance for every New Zealander.” It made that point in its submission.

Easter Monday is another example of another holiday contrasted with these days. In this case, Easter Monday was created to provide people with a holiday—[Interruption] Can we have a little bit of hush, please? It was created to provide people with a holiday as it was previously uncommon to work on Easter Sunday. The submitter considers the title of the bill to be “inapt”, as the original purpose of both days was to recognise their special nature. The submitter references the 1921 Anzac Day Amendment Bill and the 1960 Waitangi Day Act.

Business New Zealand did acknowledge, in its even-handed way, that the tourism industry would benefit, but it noted that other businesses are concerned about the potential costs, and we have talked about how much that would be. I notice that Business New Zealand’s submission is supported by the National Association of Retail Grocers and Supermarkets of New Zealand. So there is a very strong submission, and the overwhelming number of submissions were actually against this. In contrast, the tourism industry supports this bill, and it suggested that it may actually stimulate domestic tourism, and would be affordable for business while increasing the importance of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day.

One of the things that people have raised in the House, and in closing I would just like to address this, is that somehow it was thought that New Zealand was out of step with the rest of the world in the number of public holidays. Well, in fact, we are not. The United States has 10, and no minimum annual paid leave. The United Kingdom has eight. Australia has eight, and 20 days’ annual paid leave—the same as New Zealand. So there are arguments for and agin this bill, but I remain implacably opposed thereto.

A split call. Five minutes, Carol Beaumont.

It is a real pleasure to rise and speak on a positive and necessary bill that will pass here today. We have had far too many negative bills in this House and we have had far too many pieces of legislation that are not, in fact, necessary, but are really about dog whistle politics, like bashing beneficiaries. But, anyway, I rise to speak on the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. I want to acknowledge, of course, Dr David Clark and Grant Robertson, and also the Labour members of the select committee, who worked hard on this, as others have said—Darien Fenton, the senior member on the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee, and my colleague and friend here Andrew Little—all of whom have contributed, I think, important points to this debate.

This bill came about as a result of a real problem. Something in Parliament that we are meant to be aware of is identifying things that need changing and addressing the need for change. This was a real problem. Many people felt that in 2011 they had had fewer holidays than they were entitled to, and, in fact, that was true. They had had 9 public holidays, rather than the 11 that they had expected.

The purpose of the bill is quite clear, and it is not all of the things that the National MPs have been trying to say it is. They have been trying to run a line that somehow this is going to undermine important days of national significance for us. I do not think they have been successful, and I am sure that those listening to and watching the House have not been convinced by their arguments, but I will come back to that. What this bill is actually about is addressing an issue that arises only in those years when Waitangi Day and Anzac Day fall on a weekend. It will amend the Holidays Act to provide for the transfer of the public holidays for Waitangi Day and Anzac Day if they fall on a weekend.

The celebration of those very critically important days, which are fundamental to our national identity, will still be, in the case of Waitangi Day, 6 February and, in the case of Anzac Day, 25 April, but there will also be a public holiday on the Monday that follows in those years when Waitangi Day or Anzac Day fall on a weekend. That is what it is really about. It is not about disrespecting those important days. Nobody here is of that mind, and that is not what the bill does. It will ensure that certainly most New Zealanders—full-time paid employees—will get 11 public holidays every year, rather than in only 5 out of every 7 years.

This change, as others have said, is well supported. It is well supported by the public, it is well supported by employees, and it is well supported by a number of employers—particularly, as others have said, in the tourism industry. But also one of the few pieces of quantitative research done on this has shown that 87 percent of over 1,000 small and medium enterprises that were surveyed actually supported it or were neutral on the question. So the argument that employers do not support this bill is nonsensical, and it makes sense really, because those employers also have families that they want to spend time with.

Most New Zealanders, and, I would imagine, every member of this House, recognise that holidays are important. Why are holidays important? Well, let me spell it out. Holidays are an opportunity for rest and recreation. Holidays help people balance paid working time with time off to spend with family and friends. Let us recognise that in the case of Anzac Day, those who fought for our country fought for our values, and that includes the importance of family and mateship. We all know that those were critically important to those Anzacs. So holidays are important, and they have become, arguably, more important as paid work has become more demanding for many. There are longer hours, flexibility that makes it harder to balance work and life, and fewer people in workplaces, which is intensifying work.

I want to acknowledge also, given that we are talking about paid work, the many, many New Zealanders who are without paid work at the moment—who are unemployed. I want to note again the Government’s failure to focus on jobs, while it is at the same time taking a punitive approach to beneficiaries. We have very high unemployment—we have jobless growth at the moment—but, on a rare occasion, we are in this House celebrating something positive for those in paid employment, and I commend this bill to the House.

The Green Party is very pleased to support the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill on its third reading tonight, and we look forward to it passing into law. We are supporting this bill for lots of reasons, but primarily because we support a good work-life balance for New Zealanders and we believe that the economy is a tool to serve our planet and our people, and a good work-life balance is something that looks after us.

I would like to acknowledge Dr David Clark and Grant Robertson, my old boss, who was never able to give me that Monday off. I know he would have really loved to, because his party has produced this wonderful bill. The Greens would like to do a lot more to support a balanced society—one where every New Zealander could have a great life. Just imagine if we planned for our economy to help us all have balanced and fulfilling lives. Would that not be a beautiful thing?

This bill is actually just a really tiny thing, and to be opposing it just seems curmudgeonly to me, I have to say. We believe that this bill will enable workers and their families to enjoy the full entitlement of the Holidays Act—11 public holidays per year every year. Under the existing Holidays Act, in every 2 out of 7 years those 11 public holidays reduce to 9 days a year because Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are celebrated on specific days.

We have other days on which the holidays happen on the same day every year, they are marked, and people get a holiday on a different day: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and the day after New Year’s Day. When those days fall on weekends, the law allows for them to be transferred so that workers get the full entitlement from those days. We recognise the importance of doing that. The Greens maintain that the difference in treatment between Waitangi Day and Anzac Day, and Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and the days after those 2 days is an anomaly.

We reject the notion put by some submitters and members across the House that it will undermine either of those important days to have a holiday on a separate day. We have not seen any evidence of this happening with Christmas Day, and I do not think it has any less meaning to us as a people because we have a holiday on another day. Australia already transfers Anzac Day to a Monday when it occurs on a weekend, and the day’s commemorations are still held on 25 April. Even with Mondayisation, Anzac Day events in Australia are really well attended, and I do not think that would change here.

The majority of small businesses—I think all of us on this side of the House really strongly support the interests of small businesses—are supporting this initiative. The tourism industry, as has been noted, has said that it sees this as an opportunity to increase domestic tourism and that the economic benefits outweigh the costs to small employers. That is, I think, a good thing. The costs of this are not at all outrageous. Employers already bear the costs of public holidays for their staff most years. Another 2 years is not going to break the bank.

I just want to talk a little bit about the fact that I think New Zealanders work really hard—too hard, actually. I am not saying this as a slacker. I am the product of a Protestant work ethic and a workaholic father. I have never achieved work-life balance in my life without feeling I was letting myself or my employer down, to be honest, but I recognise that to be disordered. I saw the really significant health costs on my father, who needed to be resuscitated by my mother after he had a heart attack in his 40s, due to not being able to achieve work-life balance, from being a workaholic. We have an ever-increasing pressure on workers in this country, and they need to be looked after a little better. This bill is a tiny step towards that.

I am very pleased to rise to speak on the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. The previous member, Jan Logie, was talking about small elements. I think what is important is that she mentioned a few details but, of course, missed the wider context. People have been talking about Australia and holidays, and so on. Well, in Australia, just to look at a few facts, they have eight public holidays a year and 20 days off by right. In New Zealand, of course, we have 11 days off, not 8—we have 11. If this bill passes through, we will move to 12 or 13 public holidays along with 20 days off. The US has only nine public holidays, and no mandated leave. Canada—just across the border, of course, for those geographically challenged—has nine public holidays and only 10 mandated days of leave.

So New Zealand already has 11. We have more public holidays than all those other countries. We have more public holidays—a small detail for the Greens—than Australia. If we pass this bill, then we move to have even more public holidays. That can be right or wrong, but it is a context that does make New Zealand less competitive in a global environment. It is really important that we provide the full context. So, to the member who just resumed her seat, “curmudgeonly” can be an excellent word, I have to say. Personally, I feel that the word “Mondayisation” is a crime against the English language, and I feel terrible to even use it. But we need, obviously, to touch all the details. It is very important.

I do not really want to get on to the economic front as well, because those who have heard previous speeches of mine will know they have played more on the principle, but the other side of it, too, is that there are always costs to decisions that are made. So we have heard here in the House today, and it was from Grant Robertson in his initial speech, that—

💬 Grant Robertson: A brilliant speech!

Well, it was a speech, I will give it that. He said we should be giving and encouraging more holidays. We hear also from Labour, the Greens, and other parties that there is more we have to do, we have to pay people more money, and there have to be more opportunities. Whether that is right or wrong is one question, but the other is always to admit there is a cost. Where there are more holidays, where there is more pay, someone has to pay that price.

💬 Andrew Little: And there are also benefits.

Kiwis have to pay that price. Yes—I acknowledge the interjection from Andrew Little—there are benefits, too. But there are also costs, which need to be acknowledged.

I do not support this bill. The reason remains very simple, as I said from my first speech, and that is that Anzac Day and Waitangi Day are not excuses for holidays. I think it is important for everyone to understand. It has been iterated in the House a few times that, of course, Anzac Day and Waitangi Day are holidays. It is not as if they are not going to be or will be more so; they are holidays, be they on a Tuesday, a Thursday, a Saturday, or a Sunday, and that remains. We will be able to attend our services, and so on. But this has become a bill that wants to use those days of commemoration to be an excuse for a day off. When we listen to the Opposition, it does not take long at all before tourism, barbeques, and other commercial enterprise usages kick up. I invited the Opposition in my second reading speech—and this is an important point—to say to me: “Look, we want to have a discussion about more holidays.” Then let us have that discussion. Let us have that discussion. I said: “Let’s not use Anzac Day and Waitangi Day as an excuse, but if we want to talk about more holidays, come and have a chat with me.”

💬 Sue Moroney: But they’re already holidays.

Here we are—and one of the Opposition members has yelled out that they are already holidays. Yes, that is right; they are already holidays. This bill is saying that we should use those existing holidays—those days of commemoration—as an excuse for more holidays. I reject that. I say: “Come up with better ideas.” They should come up with better ideas. But to date not one person from the Opposition—not one person from the Opposition—has come to talk about an opportunity to create new holidays. No, they are more than happy to use these days of commemoration in this way. And it will harm them. It does make changes to mindsets.

Principles are important. Consistency is important. That is lost on the Opposition members, too, when they are saying that these are just the same—these days are just the same as Christmas Day or Easter. They are not. They are not. Days like Christmas, Easter, and so on are days of festivities. One needs just to look at the etymology of where the words come from. They are days of celebration. But these days, Waitangi Day and particularly Anzac Day, are days of commemoration. We have the ability already in law, in statute, and by convention to undertake these days of commemoration. This bill uses this as an excuse to create more. The Opposition yells up and down that it might be only every so often, but that is not the point. If you are a person of principle, then you stick to principles and you stick to consistency. That is the key operating here.

In a few days’ time, many of us right across the House will, of course, be undertaking our Anzac Day obligations and duties with a heartfelt desire, and I am sure that goes right across the House. I am very much looking forward to joining the people of Tāmaki down in St Heliers Bay. We have a little war memorial there on the bay for a young man. I think it is for Guyon Brookfield, who used to be a Scout troop leader, who died in the First World War. A number of us right across Tāmaki, from all the different communities, will come together on the 25th to remember that day. I think it is important to acknowledge that the day does remain a day of commemoration. To be honest, I do not expect any of those people in my electorate, standing there at the memorial, to say: “Oh, Simon, you know, I wish we had an excuse for another day off.” It is not going to happen.

We do not need this piece of legislation. What we need, as I have offered and suggested before, is a free and frank conversation. If we want more holidays, then let us have that discussion. Do not use Anzac Day. Do not use Waitangi Day. Just remember, of course, what we began with. My colleague David Bennett, fine chairperson that he is, has noted that New Zealand already has an incredibly good deal on holidays in comparison with other countries in the world. We are a great country. We already have our systems well in place. I do not support the passage of this bill. I ask the members of the Opposition to stand with a lot of Kiwis who have written to me, and others, I am sure, to say leave Anzac Day as it is. Leave Waitangi Day as it is. Let them remain as days of commemoration. I am proud and happy to not support this bill, and, in doing so, support our veterans.

What a privilege to be the last speaker before an exciting vote is about to take place on this bill, the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill. The New Zealand public is about to get a taste of what it would be like to have a good, pragmatic Labour Government in place by seeing the sorts of pragmatic bills that would make a difference to hard-working families in New Zealand. They can watch this debate this afternoon and go “Yes, that’s what we’d get under Labour. That’s what we’d get under Labour.”, because very soon the Government is about to be defeated. The Government is about to be defeated in about, oh, 5 minutes’ time. I think I might take a short call, just to make sure it gets defeated a little bit earlier.

It is not before time that that Government gets defeated in its mean-spirited approach towards working families. That can be the only reason why the National Government is actually putting itself in the position of being defeated on a bill, because it so does not want to give families the opportunity every 7 years to have the statutory holidays that they get every other year. How mean-spirited is that?

I think this bill demonstrates absolutely for the New Zealand public the big difference in having a Labour Government in place, where Labour clearly backs working families, and clearly backs the idea that we want families to be able to spend more time together, that we want workers to be well supported, and that we are not mean-spirited enough to come up with a myriad of bizarre arguments about why every seventh year we would rob working families of 2 days off that they get every other year. There can be just no good argument for that. I think that National has demonstrated that again today, that there is in fact no good argument for it.

On Anzac Day and Waitangi Day New Zealanders will commemorate those days two times every 7 years in the same way that they do every other year. The fact that they are getting the right to have those 11 statutory holidays stay in place is not going to alter that. What it will do is it will mean that they will actually get an opportunity to have those 11 statutory holidays. We have already had that debate in New Zealand. The law has already been passed that says that we have 20 days of annual leave and we have 11 statutory holidays every year. It is only a quirk in the legislation that actually stops Anzac Day and Waitangi Day being celebrated in exactly the same way on those two times every 7 years. It is mean-spirited for the Government to argue and actually risk a defeat in the House over trying to rob working families of those two holidays. It just shows how out of touch it is with ordinary New Zealanders, and it is getting more and more out of touch every day.

I do feel a sense of connection to this bill because the day—

💬 Hon Member: Oh, it’s your bill now? Oh, that’s right.

💬 Darien Fenton: No, she’s a Labour MP.

Yes, it is because I am a Labour MP, so I feel a very strong sense of connection. But the first reading of this bill happened to be on the same day as the first reading of the other bill that defeats the Government, and that is the bill to extend paid parental leave by 6 months. These two bills started out their journey together. This bill is coming to fruition an awful lot earlier than the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill, but as long as we get paid parental leave extended to families as well, I do not mind the wait.

But I am really, really excited to congratulate two colleagues who have worked very, very hard on behalf of working families in New Zealand to make sure that this legislation gets through this House, and to make sure that that entitlement goes to those families. One is David Clark, whose name this bill is in. He has done a fantastic job. He has been up and down New Zealand, raising the debate, and making sure that he is advocating very strongly for working families, as you would expect any good Labour MP to do. Then there is our deputy leader, Grant Robertson, who actually drafted the bill initially. He relied on the good luck of David Clark, who obviously has got the luck of the Irish—

💬 Grant Robertson: He’s blessed.

—he is blessed; he is indeed blessed—and who was able to get that bill out of the ballot and get it on to the Order Paper. I was so impressed with his ability to do that that I have on several occasions asked Dr David Clark to come to the races with me on the weekend to see whether I could actually pick up on some of that luck, but he has not actually obliged with that yet. But I am picking that in the year 2016, when Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or when Waitangi Day falls on a Saturday, I might very well call him in on that, and we will go to the races on a Saturday and then we will have a holiday with other working families on the Monday, and it is all going to come together.

I am not going to take up any more of the House’s time on this, because I want to get to that really exciting vote that will show New Zealanders what New Zealand can look like under a Labour Government. Thank you.

In accordance with leave granted earlier in the day, the House’s afternoon business is completed, so the House will stand suspended until 7.30 p.m., when it will deal with members’ order of the day No. 2. I will resume the Chair at that point. Bon appetit.

Sitting suspended from 5.49 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.