McAnulty KieranKIERAN McANULTY (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Chair. It is a great pleasure to stand here in the committee of the whole House stage in support of the Consumers' Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill. Just like my colleague Ian McKelvie I'd like to congratulate—CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): His full name please.KIERAN McANULTY: I thought I did say his full name Madam Chair.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Sorry I thought you just said the surname.KIERAN McANULTY: No no. But you're dead right Madam Chair. He is a gentleman and should be known as Mr Ian McKelvie such is the esteem that he is held in in this House—on this side anyway. The member who sponsored this bill after taking it on from Steffan Browning Gareth Hughes has done a marvellous job. It is a difficult issue—this—around ensuring that consumers do have the right to know the country of origin of single-product food. Of course it did create some issues coming to the Primary Production Committee around where we draw the line. It was a good process. I just want to say fundamentally right from the outset that the Labour Party does agree with this. We have supported a mandatory labelling system of food for quite some time. But where that line is drawn took up a lot of the time at the select committee stage in particular around how we might go about this. I note that we focused on the Fair Trading Act and how this bill might be able to enable the Minister in charge—at the moment that of course is the Hon Kris Faafoi—who will be able to over time review what other foods could be included under this regime. The issue around cured pork has been mentioned. There are a vast number of other foods that consumers in this country would benefit from knowing the source of those products. And so it is a great pleasure to stand here and speak in support of this. The member in charge might be able to assist the committee in adding further context and detail into a few particular things. There is a definition here around what food applies. I mean there's a few—vegetables and fruit obviously meat seafood nuts grain seeds and oil. What other foods those other foods that have been excluded at this point—I'd be interested to know what actually could indeed come under future inclusion under the regulations that this enables the Minister to be able to do. Also I'm interested in the fines. This bill essentially creates offences for false and misleading labelling on packaged food or displays. Of course that is a relevant issue. Whenever you're bringing in a mandatory system that requires people to label something there is potentially the chance that they may avoid that in order to declare to consumers where the original source of this food product is. I note that the fines are up to $10000 for individuals and $50000 for organisations. I think it would benefit the committee if the member was to provide a wee bit more context on that as to how those figures were come by and where they link to other similar offences. Of course looking at what the Minister in charge under the Fair Trading Act can do particularly in order to enable and assist the New Zealand pork industry—this is a particularly important bill for them. They are an industry that has struggled over time because of cheap importing of similar products. I think New Zealand consumers on the whole would be quite surprised to know that their bacon and ham is often made from products that are imported from overseas. They might be processed here. They might be processed in New Zealand but the original source of that product comes particularly from places like Canada North America and the Scandinavian countries as well. It's certainly not suggesting that those products are inferior but what this bill does is it ensures that the consumers know exactly where their products are coming from not just where they might be manufactured. It is of great importance not just to the pork industry but also the fishing industry as well. I note that when fish can easily be caught all around the world perhaps processed here it's still only right that consumers know where that product comes from. So just a brief introductory comment there. I probably will take a few calls on this such is the importance of the bill.Hon Members: Ha ha!KIERAN McANULTY: That's right. I'm delighted to hear that my colleagues on the other side of the Chamber are looking forward towards those contributions. Thank you Madam Chair.