1. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Labour
What changes will be made to the minimum wage on 1 April this year?
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour) Link to this
I am very pleased to announce to the House that as of 1 April the adult minimum wage will have its biggest increase since 1999, moving from $10.25 to $11.25 per hour. The youth rate will increase from $8.20 to $9 per hour. This change will effectively give 119,100 workers a pay rise next Sunday.
Actually, I have. I have seen a report that notes that the Labour-led Government has raised the minimum wage each and every year it has been in office, increasing it from $7 an hour in 1999 to $11.25 an hour this year—a total rise of $4.25 an hour, or 61 percent. That result stands in stark contrast to that of the last National Government, which over 9 years raised the minimum wage by less than $1.
Peter BrownDoes the Minister share the New Zealand First view that economically the country is well on track to enable the Government to give assurances that the minimum wage will be increased to $12 per hour within the term of this Parliament, as is stipulated in the confidence and supply agreement?
The Labour-Progressive Government has a confidence and supply agreement and an arrangement with both New Zealand First and the Green Party to have the adult minimum wage at $12 an hour by the end of this term, if economic conditions permit.
I have. I have a report that states: “We don’t believe it’s necessary to move the minimum wage up. That wasn’t what we did during the ’90s.” That report is from the deposed National Party spokesperson on industrial relations, Wayne Mapp. But I note that the leader of the National Party has flip-flopped on that position and said he is not personally opposed to adjusting the minimum wage. Although I welcome with some healthy scepticism John Key’s mimicking of Labour’s fair approach to the minimum wage, judging by National’s abysmal record of adjusting the wage—
Madam SPEAKER