Heatley Phil: Wool Industry Restructuring Bill — First Reading 
Heatley Phil: Wool Industry Restructuring Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4262] 
PHIL HEATLEY (NZ National—Whangarei) 
: 
 I am more than happy to support this bill. I appreciate the contribution of Mr Benson-Pope who I understand has driven past sheep in Otago recognises sheep of the four-legged kind and consequently takes quite an interest in this bill. I support him and his speech of “substance” which added to his poignant introduction. 
In doing so I also say that National supports the bill. Along with my colleagues Shane Ardern and David Carter I acknowledge John Luxton who started this process off in the forty-fifth Parliament. Members will recall John Luxton. He made quite a contribution during the 1990s. He had some vision and worked with all sorts of other people in the industry to see this issue through and it is now here in the forty-seventh Parliament. 
I also acknowledge Damien O’Connor who has worked on the Primary Production Committee. He is a member of the Labour Party whom I have seen become increasingly frustrated over this issue as he is an advocate for sheep farmers in this country. He has been increasingly concerned about how the chain has been dragged on this bill—from its introduction to its first reading today. Farmers voted not last week not last month but last year. It has taken right through to Christmas last year then right through to this point before we had a first reading. No real heart or motivation has been coming from the Minister Jim Sutton. I am disappointed at that and I acknowledge Damien O’Connor for containing his frustration at this bill not coming sooner to the attention of the House in a first reading. 
I acknowledge colleagues from all sides of the House including Ian Ewen-Street’s contribution. Although misguided I appreciate that he has thought about the issues in this bill and I expect him to raise them in the select committee. I do not want to see him sitting in the committee like a lamb not raising them. He is a shy retiring type but he has put the issues that concern him in this bill on the table. I want him to bring them to the fore in the select committee and I will remind him of that. 
I also remind him that 96.9 percent of the farmers who voted supported the changes we see in the bill that is having its first reading tonight so the mandate is sound. Granted just 40 percent of those eligible to vote turned out but 96.9 percent of that 40 percent voted for these changes. A 40-percent turnout is pretty good. I know that when Mr Ewen-Street has meetings in the upper part of the South Island he does not get a turnout of 40 percent. He would be lucky to get a tenth of that. So we have to acknowledge that 40 percent is a good turnout. 
I know that those 96.9 percent of farmers have been disappointed in the performance of Woolmark and the Wool Board to this point and particularly in recent years because many of them have spoken to me and to others in the National Party. There has been a myriad of reasons for that some fair and some unfair. The point is that we are here tonight to support positive changes—changes that generally come from the industry. There is a general consensus in the House that this bill should go forward to the select committee and there we will argue out the details. I look forward to that. 
The Primary Production Committee has been ready and willing to address this legislation for a long time. David Carter has certainly been ready and willing to do that. In fact he has been a great lobbyist. I know that he has been in Jim Sutton’s ear; he has certainly been in the select committee’s ear and along with Damien O’Connor has been somewhat frustrated that this legislation has not happened sooner. But the vote was taken a long time ago and as the chair of the Primary Production Committee he has been ready and willing to accept this legislation in the select committee. As chairperson he is now under pressure to get the bill through the select committee process. He must hear submissions return advice to this House and of course see the bill progress through the House. He should never have been put under that sort of pressure. 
I am disappointed that the Minister Jim Sutton has tended to make choices. He is hopping around the world addressing what he sees as bigger issues while a critical issue in this country flounders with uncertainty. I am disappointed in the Minister and I would like to log that here tonight. The lack of progress with this measure is also something I would like to log with the House. But be assured that as a member of the select committee working with and helping Ian Ewen-Street and working alongside Damien O’Connor and others I will help to improve this bill and build on it. 
The bill presently provides for the conversion of the statutory New Zealand Wool Board into a transitional company. We heard details about that tonight. It will be named the Wool Board Disestablishment Co. Ltd. The company will assume the board’s assets and liabilities. It will deal with the board’s residual liabilities and oversee the disbursement of its net assets to growers. The bill provides for the board’s assets to be allocated to woolgrowers by the issue of exchangeable shares and redeemable preference shares in the Wool Board Disestablishment Co. Ltd on the basis of sheep numbers. 
Mr Ewen-Street raised the issue that the date to be met is 30 June 2002 with 250 sheep being the number that one has to be in charge of in order to be eligible to take a financial interest in those assets through the shares. We could argue all night about how many sheep there should be and also about the date on which it all takes place but that is the job of the select committee. I look forward to talking to Mr Ewen-Street and convincing him of the merit of this in that process. More important tonight is that the House gets a clear message out to farmers that now is their opportunity to take part in the industry as it moves forward into the future. 
I believe the deadline by which they have to register their desire to be attested for eligibility is 2 May. So along with David Carter and Shane Ardern I encourage those farmers to open their folders fill in the forms and ensure that their people check them for eligibility well before 2 May. It would be a shame indeed for those farmers—particularly longstanding farmers those who have had farms pass through the generations those whose work has been built on by generation after generation—to miss out simply because a deadline has been put in place. So by 2 May we hope that all farmers who are eligible will have put forward their claim to a share in the future of the industry. I certainly encourage them to do that. 
I happily commit this bill to the select committee. The House has my assurance that I will work hard on it along with David Carter and others. 
Bill read a first time.