SpeechANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. It is a pleasure to rise and take a call on the Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Bill. We've already heard about the intent of this bill to show that we're committed to trading only in legally harvested timber.I need to thank Mr McKelvie for making me feel a little nostalgic and reminding us of the legislation from 1949 when my grandad was a harvester and a miller—not me! The smell of sawdust comes back to my nostrils when I think of him because I spent many summers as a child in the Marlborough Sounds waiting for him to come down. He'd bring logs down—as Mr McKelvie said chainsaws and pulleys. I'm not quite sure this would meet health and safety requirements these days but running around his sawmill where the blades were bigger than I was and rail tracks—it was a wonderful place to be and you know that long history of forestry is something that I pay homage to today. This is the next step in making sure that our forestry industry is something that is futureproofed and something that we can remain very very proud of.One of the things this bill does is it creates a due diligence system that will shut the door on illegally harvested timber. It'll provide a more productive and integrated and efficient supply chain one that has integrity that and is critical for our reputation as exporters of trusted high-quality timber products.It's really important that we establish this new regulatory system so that our harvesters no longer have to rely on third-party certification schemes. It's not cost-effective especially for our smaller operators and so it was great to be able to recognise that need that they had.It isn't just about our exporters; this bill also recognises our contribution to the global situation about making sure that we participate in that global fight against deforestation and illegally harvested timber around the world. Our wonderful ambassadors that I engage with from South America remind us that this legislation will be gratefully received by indigenous populations in South America. And just a reminder of the scale of that is that between 2010 and 2020 there were 2.6 million hectares of deforestation which directly impacts on our indigenous populations in South America. So this has impacts not just for our small harvesters and producers in New Zealand but globally. It's a really important thing.I want to just finish off by thanking those from the sector who really contributed to the work at select committee. I guess that recognises that complexity when you're trying to support both our local small entities right through to that global fight to stop deforestation and illegal harvesting. I think this is another really good sign to the world that we are leaders: we're not scared to rise up to the challenges that face our exporters our timber industry and our food and fibre sector and to ensure that we have a just transition to international trade and production that is world leading.It was a long and complicated process and I feel very grateful to have been on the select committee one of the hard-working select committees that made sure that this bill was as good as it could possibly be. It is a really great sign I think that we could work across all of the parties to find something that works because we all know how important it is that we support our food and fibre producers for domestic production but also for exports. It is because of that that I commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Poto Williams): This debate is interrupted and set down for resumption on the next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 16 May 2023. Pō mārie.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 4.56 p.m.