This week in Parliament MPs are set to engage in fierce debate about proposed labour laws that could raise wages through sector-wide collective bargaining systems.
It’s the second reading and then the committee stage of the Fair Pay Agreements Bill, which the Government’s Leader of the House Chris Hipkins told us about and more.
MPs in the debating chamber Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
“It is designed to raise incomes for some low paid work where we see people effectively racing to the bottom in terms of their salaries. Fair Pay Agreements will mean that we can look across industry and make sure that we're paying people better. It's not unprecedented. In recent times we've seen forms of Fair Pay Agreements, if you like, reached on a more targeted, localised basis for example in the aged care sector where there was a settlement - you could argue that that was kind of a precursor to a Fair Pay Agreement because it's effectively set a floor for the industry in terms of what they could pay,” Hipkins said.
The Fair Pay Agreements Bill is expected to generate an energetic debate during its second reading today and then again during its Committee Stage on Thursday morning during an extended sitting of Tuesday.
“It's a long bill, there's a number of parts to it. So I'll be putting to the Business Committee a proposal for how we might structure the debate, so that it can actually be a logical debate during the committee of the whole stage in the House. And I do expect that's going to take some time, there's going to be a lot of debate. My good friend and colleague Michael Wood (Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety) will be in the chair for that one.”
Among other Government legislation relating to the workplace, the Worker Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Bill is due to get its first reading. This is an omnibus bill which seeks to improve compliance and enforcement legislation to deter employers from exploiting migrant workers.
Michael Wood, the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
Urgent Referral
Another Bill scheduled for first reading is the Climate Change Response (Extension of Penalty Transition for Forestry Activities with Low Volume Emissions Liabilities) Amendment Bill which extends the transition period provided for Emissions Trading Scheme participants with low-volume emissions liabilities related to forestry. On the Order Paper, its referral is listed as being “under urgency” or what Hipkins said he would describe as a technical urgency.
“Under Parliament Standing Orders once a Bill has been introduced to the house it has to sit on the table for 3 sitting days before it can be progressed, and it can only be progressed on the third sitting day. This Bill was actually introduced two weeks ago but because Parliament hasn't been sitting during that time it's been sitting on the table - it’s been publicly available, anyone can look at it on the parliamentary website - but it technically hasn't sat on the table for 3 sitting days,” he explained.
“Now it’s a relatively old rule that dates back to when governments introduced bills they literally physically put them on the table and members rushed up to the table to collect their copies of the bill so they could see what the government was doing. In the digital age of course that doesn't happen. When the government tables a bill it’s automatically available to anyone anywhere in the world all at the same time. But it is a bit of an antiquated rule.
“So the only way that we can do first reading for that on Tuesday is to do what I call a technical urgency and that means it bypasses the three-sitting day stand down period once legislation is introduced before it can be considered. I hope in time that Parliamentary Standing Orders will be updated to reflect the fact that you know technology has moved on somewhat in the last hundred or so years and actually we can make bills available to members as soon as they are tabled.”
Since retiring as Speaker in August, Trevor Mallard (on right) has been sitting on the backbenches near rebel MP Gaurav Sharma. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Gender equality milestone
Wednesday is Member’s Day, with third readings scheduled for the Plain Language Bill and the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill. It’s possible that the MPs could get around to the Third reading of the Crimes (Child Exploitation Offences) Amendment Bill.
On Thursday afternoon, the last item of business for the week is to be the valedictory statement of long-serving Labour MP Trevor Mallard who stood down as Speaker of Parliament in August after a stint of almost five years in the role.
Mallard is Parliament’s longest serving MP, and his valedictory is bound to reflect on a fair degree of this country’s political history since he was first elected in 1984. To fill the vacancy created by Mallard’s departure from Parliament, Soraya Peke-Mason will be sworn in next week
“That makes New Zealand one of the first parliaments in the world to achieve true gender equality in terms of our representation. Fifty percent of our MPs will be women,” Hipkins noted.
“I think that’s a really significant accomplishment from one of the first countries that recognised women’s right to vote.”
