Further, I also know that some people on the other side of the Whare may not have a realistic picture or have truly experienced how the other half live. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to take time off unpaid and not having to worry about an hour or two short in your pay packet so you can attend your parent-teacher interview. Many of our vulnerable whānau and communities, including our shift, insecure, and casualised workers, and Māori and Pacific, are not in this privileged position. Let me advise from experience that one or two hours unpaid for workers and their whānau can mean choosing between a bill or two that you can miss out or skip paying for this week, and then you can save worrying till next payday about how you're going to catch up on these payments or these bills later, knowing that your tamariki has to come first. 