McClay ToddHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): Mr Speaker thank you. I have a question for members of this Government: when this legislation is passed what actual effects is it going to have upon the cost of living and the cost of food in New Zealand in the short or medium term? Sadly the answer is: next to nothing. Jamie Strange the last speaker in the debate said he didn't want to take too much time and that we had to pass it into law—we needed to quickly pass it into law so that virtually nothing will happen. Now that's not to say that we're not supporting it—there are anomalies in the law that make it difficult for competitors to enter the market—but if you go and have a look at actually why food is so expensive in New Zealand at the moment the supermarkets will be a part of that but they will only be a part of it. Actually the role that the Government plays in creating regulation and therefore cost as quickly as they can is the larger part of why food is expensive—and too expensive in this country. I don't want to take away the importance of this by suggesting it's unimportant but for mum and dad at home in a Kiwi household that's finding it hard to pay the bills and is faced with the extremely tough choice of paying bills or feeding the kids—if they are listening to this debate and they've listened to the Minister's speech at the beginning I'm sorry for them: there is no relief. There is no help coming as a result of this legislation and there will be members of Government who say that that's not true that they're a caring Government and that they're a listening Government. If it is solely the responsibility of the supermarkets for the sharp escalation of the cost of food in New Zealand over the last few years why is it that the fish and chip shop is more expensive than it was that the food at the market is more expensive than it was and that food at the gate of the producer is more expensive today than it was? The supermarkets have nothing at all to do with that degree of production or retail.I was on the committee before this legislation was introduced when the Government instructed the Commerce Commission to do an investigation into the supermarkets and the structure of retail for wholesale food in New Zealand. The Commerce Commission came before the committee and I had the opportunity to question them about all the things that they were looking at to come up with a clear overview—information that the consumer could rely upon—as to why food was escalating in price in New Zealand. Sadly they said that they only had the ability to look into the supermarkets and nothing else: not the effect of a fast increase in the rate of the minimum wage year on year on year and whether that's had an impact or not; whether or not more regulation from the Government that imposes standards around say health and safety that actually don't drive any greater outcomes in safety and whether or not that's a cost that is borne by a producer that gets passed on; or whether or not at the time—and we have a small respite at the moment—extra increases in the cost of fuel or in road-user charges for diesel have had an impact and are they being passed on.The Commerce Commission said that they didn't have the ability to look into any of these sorts of things because the Government and Cabinet in instructing them to do an investigation asked them to solely look at the structure of those supermarkets. Sadly what that means is that only a part of the job is done. Now the Commerce Commission came out with a number of reforms or suggestions in its finding. Let's say the Government took on board all of them and did them in urgency. Let's say we were doing every single thing that they'd said today in this House and were passing them into law—well that would be a positive thing. There could well be more competition but a lack of competition in itself isn't the only reason that costs have gone up; largely it's the role that this Government has played. If there is no consequence at all to fast increases in the minimum wage and all that it does is provide people with more so that they are better off then that's no consequence—put it up to $50 per hour. But we know that's not the case. There is a consequence because every time the Government imposes a cost upon business it has to be passed on or absorbed and in the case of most producers in New Zealand they can no longer absorb that cost increase imposed by the Government and so they are having to pass it on. So the Government in applauding or congratulating themselves here today have made a very very small step in the direction of focusing on why food has become so prohibitively expensive to so many households in New Zealand. What they haven't done is looked at the role that they play themselves and I dare say unfortunately as we debate other things in this House that actually as more and more rules come more regulations come and more changes come—as well-meaning as they may seem—they will impose burden and cost upon businesses that gets passed on in everything that we do and in this case in food.Think about the producer of fresh fruit and vegetables in New Zealand that are sold in supermarkets. The price has gone up hugely and why is that? Actually because of the costs that are imposed upon the grower through everything that they do from regulation to the cost of freight and so on. When those fresh fruit and veges are picked and put on a truck the cost goes up because of extra tax and the increase in the minimum wage which is passed on or is inherited by even those who earn more than the minimum wage because actually you see cost go up throughout that pay scale until the produce arrives at the supermarket and is unpacked and then those costs actually are upon the supermarket business and they have inherited or had to assume the costs previously. That's the reason that things have become so very expensive in this country. I've got to say that whilst this is an important move in as far as at least it may level the playing field for those that might want to enter the market and that have found that they couldn't find the land that they wanted to build a supermarket or create a new outlet somewhere where consumers could take advantage of that when we do have a new entrant to the market and they build their supermarket and they move into that supermarket already the cost imposed upon them to build to get the consents and to meet all of the standards the Government has put in place means that on their very first day of more competition for supermarkets in New Zealand their goods will be more expensive than they should be if the Government hadn't believed that every single issue they find can be solved by new regulation that imposes cost. The final thing here is that in the end it's not the supermarket the owner of the building or the employer that is worse off as a result; it is the consumer—the very people that this Government says that they want to help through their kindness. Ultimately the Government bears more responsibility for the sharp increases in ongoing costs to the consumer in almost everything that we see than the supermarket does albeit this is a small step in the right direction. I will echo the words of the last speaker who is the chair of the select committee that has done a very good job in as far as what he's allowed to do: let's be in a rush to pass this legislation so that tomorrow not a single thing happens for the consumer in New Zealand except the costs will continue to go up. If it was merely about competition it would be an easy issue to solve. The Government could wash its hands of the responsibility but in everything this Government has done it has imposed cost upon businesses and households and it is the consumer that bears the brunt of that. Thank you Mr Speaker.