For 30 years, the critical work and contribution of Kiwis performing some of the most essential work in our country has been systematically undervalued. I ask this House why the cleaners who keep us in this Chamber healthy and safe should not have wages that allow them to live in dignity and their whānau to have security. I ask this House why the bus drivers who serve our communities up and down New Zealand should not have hours of work that enable them to participate fully in family and community life. I ask this House why aged care should not be a sector that attracts skilled and caring Kiwis through decent, sustainable pay and conditions. The answer is that for 30 years, our employment relations system has embedded low pay and conditions in a race to the bottom in many of these sectors. This isn't necessarily about employers deliberately doing the wrong thing; it's the inevitable consequence of a system that has incentivised competition based on low labour costs. 