Madam Speaker, I move, that the the Minimum Wage (Abolition of Age Discrimination) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that this bill be considered by the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee. My goal in putting forward this piece of legislation is simply to get rid of the current legal discrimination which sees young 16 and 17 year old workers paid less than people doing exactly the same job solely because of their age. There was a time in the history of this country, which lasted for generations, when Maori were paid a lot less than Pakeha for the same work purely because they were Maori. Nor were tangata whenua entitled to unemployment benefits, but that's another story. There was also a time, which also endured for generations, when most women were paid a lot less than men doing identical work simply because we were women. These days I imagine all of us in this House look back in disbelief that such primitive attitudes were so acceptable and accepted. Yet we still have a situation in which the legal minimum wage for young workers is set permanently at a lower rate than for workers 18 and over. At the moment the minimum pay for 16 and 17 year olds is $7.60 an hour. This will go up to a princely $8.20 at the end of March. The minimum pay for everyone 18 and over is $9.50 an hour, due to rise to $10.25. All these pay rates are far too low. National average earnings in December 2005 equalled $21.29 an hour. The Australian minimum wage is currently set at nearly $14 NZ an hour. Compare the $21.13 or even the Australian $14 with our minimum rates and it should be easy enough to see why workers on the youth minimum of $7.60 or not much above it might feel somewhat aggrieved. After all, these young workers are carrying out real jobs that need doing, it's not make believe work, or training. They have to meet a job description and all their employer's expectations in just the same way as do their colleagues aged 18 and over. Jobs at the local petrol station, supermarket, fastfood outlet, shopping mall, cinema complex or farm - or a multitude of other places - aren't there for fun — or for training — these are jobs for real. If anyone doubts me, take a quiet closer look next time you're being served by or helped by a young worker. There seems to be a myth embedded in some older peoples' subconscious, that if you're young, you're not worth as much on the job. Yet how real is this myth? We are actually at our physical and mental prime when we're in our mid teens. For much of human history this was the age at which we started having and supporting our children and going to war for our tribe or nation. For most young people, their minds are sharp and and their bodies quick and strong at this age, and they are more than capable of performing to a very high standard, especially in the socalled 'entry level' jobs. I believe many businesses take on workers in this age group because they bring greater mental alertness and /or high physical capacity to the job than would an older worker say in their 40s, 50s or 60s. Employers aren't hiring young workers out of the kindness of their hearts — they're taking them on because they're as valuable to them as any other employee. The argument is often made that young workers deserve to be paid less because they are new to the workforce and need lots of training. I would like to refute this on several grounds. Firstly, in this day and age many young people have already been at work since they were 14 or 15 and have considerable experience in the workplace — and even in the same job - by the time they reach 16. Secondly, even where this doesn't apply, any worker, no matter what their age, needs training and orientation when they start a new position. All employers know this and in this day and age I'm sure most of them are more than adequately equipped to bring the new employee up to speed in as timely and supportive way as possible. And thirdly, during the last few months I've been working on bringing this Bill to the House, I've been surprised to discover just how many 16 and 17 year old workers aren't just at entry level positions, but are in fact in roles like supervisors or shift managers. These are people who may have been working for two or three years at this job already, and have been promoted to a position where they are managing and training other staff, a number of whom may well be on substantially higher wages. Is this fair? Does this make sense? Not at all. Another argument used by those who staunchly believe young workers are literally worth less is that getting rid of minimum wage discrimination will mean employers will be reluctant to take on people in this age group, thereby adding to youth unemployment. Now if I thought this was a reasonable expectation it's unlikely I"d be pushing this issue as hard as I am. There is no question young people suffered disproportionately from unemployment in the 80s and 90s and I'd hate to see us go back to the kind of levels we had then. In fact, I take note of research like that carried out by Treasury and published in a 2004 report that shows quite clearly that raising minimum wages for young people does not create or cause unemployment. This is a myth. There are many other factors which cause unemployment to rise but this is not one of them. As the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, who have done and continue to do such wonderful work in the area of youth unemployment, said in a submission to Minister Ruth Dyson in late 2005, minimum wage increases for 16 and 17 year olds of 81% since 1999, quote 'have not resulted in constraints on job creation or fewer opportunities for young people." Instead, what higher pay rates actually do is increase both worker productivity - a happy and reasonably well paid worker is almost certainly going to be a more productive employee - and at the same time boost the amount of money going back into the low end of the New Zealand economy, helping to keep other workers in jobs too. There are already a a good number of employers who do have policies not to pay less than the adult minimum wage to their 16 and 17 year old staff. I'd like to take this opportunity to commend them for the respect they're paying to the worth and quality of their employees, and I hope their fellow employers who take a perhaps less progressive attitude might take a closer look at the benefits these companies are achieving through a more enlightened approach. At a rough estimate there are around 10,000 16 and 17 year olds in the workforce at present. The costs these young people face are no diffent than those confronting 18 or 30 or 50 year olds. Food, clothing and transport are just as dear - there are no discounts for the young at the supermarket checkout or petrol station counter. Often the young workers are still at school and helping to feed and clothe themselves and their families, because the income coming in to the wider whanau is simply not enough. Many are working long hours after school and on weekends just for reasons of survival. Teachers and principals express concern about the way in which this is affecting the ability of students to do their best at school. If these young workers were being paid more they would not have to feel obliged to work such long hours at a time when getting the best possible educational results should be at the top of their career agenda. We live in a country where wages for many are far too low, and where the gap between rich and poor continues to widen. Those of us with a commitment to social and economic justice should be doing everything we can as MPs to boost minimum incomes and to close the aching gap between those who are paid a lot less than what they're worth and those who are paid plenty. I understand my bill tonight has the support of a number of parties in this House and I"d like to thank the Labour, Maori, United Future and NZ First parties in advance for that. It is great that we are going to be able to have the debate in Select Committee, and to enjoy the opportunity to hear points of view from all sides of this issue in the months ahead. I realise some of you, even among the support parties, may not be convinced by my arguments here tonight, but I believe that when you hear the voices of affected young people and those who work with them, you may become more certain about just how iniquitous it is to be paid less on the grounds of age alone. I'd also like to finish by paying tribute to the unions and workers who have rallied, picketed and marched over the last couple of months in support of this bill and of a higher minimum wage for all workers in this country. You are the real heroes of this struggle and I hope that before long we'll be celebrating a small but vital victory in the long march towards genuine pay equity for all workers in this country.