SpeechALASTAIR SCOTT (National—Wairarapa): Thank you Mr Speaker. Here we are discussing the registration of advisers and log purchasers—those who might want to purchase a log. That is the priority for this Government at this time on Budget day in urgency. I mean I thought we had urgency for really important things; things that had to be done in a timely manner to kickstart a process because it was urgent. This does not qualify for any reason to be urgent. This does not actually create any new jobs. We're talking about a large industry. This is going to see those levels of exports that we've talked about being so important decline—the value of those exports will be declining because of the costs that are layered by this piece of legislation.There is no need for this legislation. This legislation is telling the industry that they're idiots. This piece of legislation is telling the associations in the forestry sector that they don't know how to conduct their own business. This piece of legislation is telling small medium size and large-forest owners that they're fools and that they are not capable of seeking advice from reputable advisers taking that advice and managing their forests.This sector has been around for a very very long time. The wall of wood that we are seeing now was planted in the 1990s—and of course we had a thriving forestry sector before that. These syndicates that are small-forest owners have been around a long time. They've trusted they've had legal advice they've had financial advice at the time knowing the risks aware of the commodity-based product that is a log—that is a log. The log is always going to be subject to commodity pricing because that's what it is. It's like orange juice. It's like milk powder. It's like wool. It's a commodity. The price of it rises and falls with demand and supply.If we're going to register and direct logs a commodity into a processing facility because of the tax that Mr Jones talks about we are in big big trouble. If we start taxing our exports that is only going to put our price of that commodity up to the international purchaser and that international purchaser will go elsewhere. We will see less exports when Mr Jones introduces—Hon Shane Jones: Jobs jobs.ALASTAIR SCOTT: —his export tax. He justifies it by saying there will be jobs as a result. He's suggesting that we need more wood processing in New Zealand. Well there's a list of associations in New Zealand that for some reason Mr Jones doesn't think talk to each other. There's the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association: 27 branches around the country been around for 50 years—that's the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association. There's the Forest Owners Association. There's the Wood Council of New Zealand. There's the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association. Apparently these guys are all idiots; they don't really know how to run their business! They're being told to work closer together—Otherwise we'll tax you." There's the Forest Industry Contractors Association and there's the New Zealand Timber Industry Federation. There are a lot of smart people out there. They've been in the business. They know what they're doing. They're not interested in having a layer of compliance an obligation to restrict their markets by being forced to put their logs in this processing factory or that factory.Those processors are not asking for subsidies from the Government. They're not asking for what Mr Jones is suggesting. They're not asking for an export tax; that's all his idea and it's ludicrous. Let's put it on wool shall we? To force the sheep growers to process wool in New Zealand—well that's a ridiculous suggestion. Why don't we put it on milk powder? That's a commodity. Why don't we put a tax on milk powder to stop people delivering it as a raw commodity into the offshore market? Why don't we tax it so that we can process it into cheese and yoghurt in New Zealand? Why don't we do that? What a ridiculous idea that would be. And so it is with forestry. It is exactly the same argument. Taxing an export will only incentivise people to stay away from it. The cost will be too high and they'll walk away. Margins will be eroded jobs will be lost and the economy goes down the toilet as a result of the policy that Mr Jones is suggesting.There is no need for this registration—registration for what? I mean what are we going to do register—OK we've got financial advisers that are registered and real estate agents that are registered; that's been mentioned tonight. Why don't we register car salesmen? Why don't we do that to make sure that they're all satisfactory and of good character. Why don't we do that? I'll tell you what: why don't we have a gun register see if that works? Oh no that's right—they've already tried that idea and that's not going to work either. Registration is a layer of cost that is totally unnecessary. It's patronising to the industry. The industry do not and have not asked for this. They do not need it. The processors do not ask for it. The logging sector is not asking for it. The small foresters are not asking for it. And in fact the reasoning in this bill—that the small foresters will account for a larger proportion of logs coming to the market—is not correct. I've seen contradictory numbers to say that those small operators who planted in the 1990s are harvesting now and will not be such a large influence in 10 years as the document in the bill suggests. So that's the registering of the advisers.Why on earth do we have to register someone who is buying something? Why do we have to register a purchaser of a log? So the purchaser who will process or export—well you can't do much else than either process or export. So every purchaser of a log has to be registered. Why logs and not I don't know anything? Cars?Hon Shane Jones: Repetition.ALASTAIR SCOTT: Well no this is about the purchasing side—this is about the purchasing; registration of the purchaser. I've spoken about the registration of the adviser; this is the ridiculous idea of registering someone who wants to buy something. I don't even need to say any more it's such a ridiculous idea. Why would you want to or need to register someone who's going to buy a piece of wood down at Mitre 10? Buy a log buy a sheep buy a cow; why don't we register everyone who wants to buy something? This is a scary lefty sort of—Hon David Bennett: It's communist.ALASTAIR SCOTT: —communist sort of policy that's creeping in. We're suggesting export taxes. This bill is a crazy prelude to something that seems to be coming our way which is even more scary than this bill.This is not an urgent piece of legislation; it's not even useful legislation. It's totally redundant legislation and it is unwanted legislation. However we will support it to the select committee to allow—Hon Members: Ha ha!ALASTAIR SCOTT: Well you'll hear it from the people. We will hear it from the people we will hear it from the advisers we will hear it from the associations and we will hear it from the processors that this is not a good piece of legislation."