Hon MICHAEL WOOD: We have just come through one of the most challenging years in New Zealand's history and one of the things that many of us observed is that it was people who have been historically undervalued, like our cleaners, our bus drivers, our hospital orderlies, and our checkout operators, who kept our economy and our society going. And I believe it is only fair and just and reasonable that those people receive a fair wage for the important work that they do. It is also good for our economy. As the Young Workers' Resource Centre business manager, Tony Stevens, said recently: "higher minimum wages stimulate the economy. We know that the lowest paid workers … spend every dollar they earn because they have to."