This Government must do better, because here we are, nine days out from 1 July 2022, when the 2017 settlement will expire, and despite the union's efforts to initiate discussions with the Government last year over a replacement or an extension of the 2017 Act, nothing was achieved, either because the Government forgot or didn't consider fair pay for support workers to be a priority. This offer is a 3 percent pay rise, or an extra 70c per hour for support workers. In these times, 70c is a slap in the face for someone who has been a support worker for 12 years. That's a huge devaluation of the skill and expertise needed to do this work. That's less than half the rate of inflation and nowhere near the union's calculation for what is required to maintain the pay equity in the previous settlement. The starting rate the Government is offering for support wages is $22.49. That's not even the Living Wage. In Australia, they're offering their care workers an average of $35.86 in New Zealand dollars. That's miles ahead of us. 