Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard
Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour): On the first day of Christmas, the far-right race-baiting Government gave to me a kick in the guts to the workers. We’re making union-busting bosses jolly. They are a disgrace—they are a disgrace. It was lovely to hear Efeso Collins—beautiful. We had high hopes for him but he swapped sides, but kei te pai. We had high hopes for him.
The question’s got to be asked today: what was the price here? What was the price in terms of this legislation? Well, let’s kill 5,000 more people a year in terms of the smoke-free legislation. That stands out.
Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Surprise, surprise!
Hon WILLIE JACKSON: No, that’s a fact. Dr Duncan Webb knows. We’ll kill 5,000 more people to keep our rich mates happy so we can give our rich mates their tax cuts, yes. That is the price in terms of this legislation. Oh, and we’ll beat the Māoris. We’ll kick all the Māoris out, but we’ve got two or three with us so—
ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O’Connor): Mr Jackson, if you’re going to be provocative, be provocative on the bill we’re talking about.
Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Thank you, Mr Speaker, but it’s all related, Mr Speaker. This anti-worker agenda has already been tried by National and ACT—already been tried with their 90-day trials. And the research from 2016 commissioned by Treasury clearly states—we’ve said this several times—no evidence that the ability to use trial periods significantly increases firms’ overall hiring and no evidence that the policy increased the probability that a new hire by a firm was a disadvantaged job seeker.
There you go. How many times has our great spokesperson Camilla Belich said this? How many times do you have to get it through their thick heads? I say that with all respect, of course. What did the Treasury commission research find? No evidence that the ability to use trial periods significantly increases firms overall hiring. Adding to that, the Treasury commission research into National and ACT’s previous 90-day trials concluded that the main benefit of the 90-day trial policy was a decrease in dismissal costs for firms while many employees faced increased uncertainty about their job security for three months after being hired.
So, this law is not about helping workers; it’s about helping big business exploit those workers. That’s what this is about. These are the friends of the National Party. These are the friends of the ACT Party. They want to just placate them, look after them, and, sadly, so many of these people have forgotten their roots. I look across at the Māori members; they’re a disgrace to Māoridom—there’s no doubt about it. They sit there. They will be too scared to go back to their tribes this Christmas. They will be too scared because their tribes will tell them to get lost, like they said to David Seymour. He’s been kicked out. OK, I’ll come back to the bill—OK.
So the employment law that this new far-right race-baiting Government are ramming through under urgency, with no public submissions, helps abuse workers for the benefit of bad bosses. We are open to small business under 19 workers having this option, but giant companies will only exploit this law and use it to intimidate and bully workers so that they can pay their fees to the National Party. This is a fact. This is an undeniable fact. The members are always right. FIRST Union general secretary Dennis Maga knows this legislation—good man; good union fighter—will drive wages down and increase unemployment and underemployment. Dennis says putting an extreme libertarian ACT Minister—this is what he said. Have a listen. I’m glad you’re listening. Putting an extreme libertarian ACT Minister in charge of workplace relations and safety is like putting a vampire in charge of a country’s emergency blood supply, which is very unfair, of course, because it suggests Minister Brooke van Velden has a heart and this law-bashing law is clearly the work of a heartless person.
Todd Stephenson: That’s unparliamentary, mate.
Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Ah, shush up, you ACT idiots. OK, this isn’t employment law; it’s extremism—the extremism of the ACT Party, the extremism of New Zealand First, and, sadly, the deterioration and extremism of a National Party who have betrayed their people and succumbed to David Seymour and Winston Peters.
It’s telling that this new legislation, this new far-right race-baiting Government’s attempt, is actually going to hurt ordinary people, going to hurt workers. Enabling bad bosses to cause injustice doesn’t build up a country; it tears it down.
That’s why I’m sad like good National people like Jim Bolger, who found his roots and principles with the Labour Party; Jenny Shipley, who joins us at Waitangi every year. They’re embarrassed by this lot on the other side.
Cameron Brewer: Rubbish!
Hon WILLIE JACKSON: No, no, they are. You need to ring Jenny up. Well, I don’t know if she told me this but I know she’s going to tell me this one day.
Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori, we all look after the many. See, we’re all in coalition now, collaboration. Even the Māori party says some nice things about us sometimes, you know. We’re here to look after the few and not the many. But here’s the point, the moment a Labour-led Government is returned in 2026, we will change this law—we will change this law. Oh, that’s right. Winston will have a melt down by then. I say again, many Kiwis are shocked by the extremism of this new Government, and this ongoing attack on workers’ rights will not go unchallenged. This is just the start. We’re just being all nice now.
But, listen, you wait till workers and Māori hit the streets. Voters supposedly wanted stability in the form of a National, ACT, and New Zealand First Government. But what they’re getting is an extremist agenda in terms of bashing workers, renters, beneficiaries, the environment, and the Māori nation. This isn’t a Government; it’s a right wing revenge fantasy. National are eroding workers’ rights and this policy is focused on benefiting employers rather than employees, giving them more power over our average worker. It’s another example of this new Government’s aversion to evidence-based policy, which has been well traversed particularly by our legal team over here, led by Camilla Belich over here, Helen White, Rachel, Arena Williams. They’ve been so articulate in terms of making it clear. Are we interested in evidence-based policy or do we just create policy for our rich mates in the ACT Party, New Zealand First, and National?
That’s what this is about. During a cost of living crisis, workers need more protections and better job security, not less. This policy will reduce workers’ sense of job security. This exacerbates the inherent imbalance of power in the employment relationship and makes it harder for workers to secure wages. Together with the Government’s other employment relations reform, this will depress wages and keep New Zealanders locked into low wages. It does nothing to help workers with the cost of living, which is something this other lot has been waffling on about over the last year or two.
Lower job security will particularly impact Māori, women, Pasifika, workers. It just goes on and on. Along with the fair pay changes, it’s one of the worst pieces of legislation that’s ever hit our community. It focuses on benefiting employers and the rich mates of the National Party. The sad thing is, given that New Zealand already has one of the most relaxed set of labour laws in the developed world, 90-day trials will put Kiwi workers at another serious disadvantage.
I could go on and on, of course, as you well know, but in this last 30 seconds I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. You know, even though it’s been a terrible last couple of weeks from the evil Government, I do want to wish them and their whānau all the very best. This is what it’s all about. We get up, we contest, we want to, you know, strangle each other, and then we ended up having a beer with some of them last night. So I want to say to them
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