Dean Jacqui; Severin Toni; van Velden Brooke; Verrall AyeshaPart 9 RegulatorCHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Members we come now to Part 9 the debate on clauses 330 to 362 and Schedule 3 Regulator". The question is that Part 9 stand part.TONI SEVERIN (ACT): Thank you Madam Chair. I'd like to stand on behalf again of Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 378 in Brooke van Velden's name. Again this is around information sharing—this again is companies as well as individuals that have worked very hard to create information and products—products that we send overseas. It's about regulating how the information is going to be shared and once again many of these people have a bit of concern. And what we just want to do is we just want to tighten this up a little bit better to make sure that this information—people's intellectual property (IP)—is not going to be shared to other companies or other individuals. Like as we said in an earlier SOP that we did as well again it was around information sharing and making sure that it is held and contained and it's not going to leak out. Also the bill—because we jump around from one thing to the next—can be very confusing for a lot of these businesses out there to know where all this actually stands especially around IP and information. We've got two different sections within this bill and all we want to do is make sure that it is very very tight. We've got replacement clauses here that are actually necessary to make sure that these powers are not accidentally abused with people's information and that they sneak out and that that register is actually well and truly tight and that we don't accidentally send information out to other companies that are competitors to those that are giving their IP to the regulators so that their products can be regulated. And again a lot of this comes around the concern about the compliances and making sure that these people are going to be guaranteed that this information doesn't leak out. And that's a huge concern for many companies that we have spoken to and also quite a few individuals who have created their own. It's necessary to make sure that this information—because of this bill with this information sharing with the regulator—does not sneak out especially around people's property rights IPs that they have spent time and they've spent the money to create. And it's necessary that we make sure that they're all tight especially around the powers here.BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT): Thank you Madam Chair. I think my colleague Toni Severin has done a wonderful job explaining this Supplementary Order Paper 378 in my name. But I also wanted the opportunity to speak to it. Look New Zealand is a very small market. We're a very tiny little nation on the edge of the world for a lot of big players especially large pharmaceutical companies and I think it's really important that this regulator gets things right. And it doesn't appear that that's the case as drafted because we've had people who are involved in medicines and pharmaceuticals say to us "We're a little bit concerned about this law and we're concerned because we spend a lot of money a lot of time a lot of resources in developing new and innovative medicines and new technologies. That means we have a lot of data and information that we have that's privileged information because we have spent so much time investing in our own products."Now under this law they've said "We're a little unsure that that data would actually still belong to us"—that it would still be safe it would still be secure—as intellectual property. So they've asked for an amendment to this law to ensure that if they are a big player internationally and they take the chance of coming to New Zealand going through the rigmarole of becoming regulated under this new regulator in fact it's not going to open them up to having damage to their intellectual property in New Zealand and internationally. Now you can understand why that's of huge importance because if you have spent so much time and energy and resource and capital into investing in new innovative medicine you want to know that you can actually hold on to that product—that is your product—and not because the process that you've gone through with a small regulator on the other side of the world has opened you up to other people having access to your data and privileged information. You might all of a sudden see competition where your intellectual property is no longer valid.I think this law does need to be tightened to make sure that people have the faith that they can invest they can develop new technology new medicine and they know that it will be safe and secure—it is their intellectual property and they do have access to their own data. I think it's also important for New Zealanders. That's what's missing here. If we want Kiwis to feel like they have a shot at having access to new innovative medicines and they have a shot at having better health outcomes they need new innovative technology. They need new medicines. If companies around the world don't have faith that this regulator will protect their intellectual property then they won't seek to have their products regulated in New Zealand. And that means all New Zealanders are worse off.So I hope the Minister will see sense and tighten up this regulator to make sure that international companies people who import and export can have faith that the New Zealand regulator will not disrupt their intellectual property.Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Minister of Health): I thank the members for those contributions. Of course these issues around protection of intellectual property of companies that develop and manufacture medicines and medical devices is not new and in the case of medicines the existing regulator already deals with them on a day-to-day basis. In formulating the bill the Government has taken account of that need for confidentiality and we believe there are already strong and robust protections for confidentiality around intellectual property in the bill. We are also confident that it aligns with our international obligations in this area."