van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Chair. Look it's a pleasure to rise and take a call here in the committee stage of the European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill. Of course noticing the brevity of the process we've gone through—a truncated second reading—and can I acknowledge and thank members across the Chamber for their willingness to support that.I do really want to just touch a bit on the time frame because I think it is really important to note that this has been a collaborative effort and I really do want to acknowledge particularly the members that I've worked with on the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for their speedy efficient but detailed consideration of this piece of legislation because it is very important for New Zealand exporters and it's as simple as that.I want to acknowledge and thank the Minister for Trade as well for bringing this before the House. It was the very first sitting week of the year we were debating this legislation and then given a report back of 4 April. Looking at that though we were able to determine that actually by just coming a week or so earlier it would enable the agreement to come into force an entire month earlier which would have a direct financial benefit for New Zealand exporters.Members across the committee were very keen to support that endeavour and I really want to acknowledge their work. I also want to thank Damien O'Connor particularly as a former Minister for Trade for his work on this agreement as well. I think that's one of the things that we are very—well certainly as the chair of the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee I'm thankful for on our committee: that we have a relatively collegial approach to these aspects on the committee and actually that's as it should be for something as important as this because it is an important piece of legislation.As I said the time frame part of it is really interesting. When we heard from submitters through this process but even prior to that those industries that were going to be impacted or would have benefit from this they made it clear that given the seasonal nature of some of those products—in horticulture in particular—we're in a window at the moment where products are being exported. By us being able to look at having enforcement on 1 May which is what we're working towards now with the prompt consideration that the committee is providing on this bill that will actually provide a direct financial benefit to a number of those exporters in terms of the percentage of product they would otherwise be exporting through that month of May in particular.So I'm really pleased again—and I do really just want to thank the members for that. Because it was something that we could easily have taken our full time allocation through till April on which would have pushed it out until June or indeed even longer if the Minister hadn't brought the legislation in and given us that shortened report-back date.Because this is important and I think it's worth noting actually that the EU ratified at their end late last year which was fantastic to see—late November they ratified it in their Parliament. So of course then it was just waiting on New Zealand's end to carry out that work. So I'm very pleased to be able to bring that forward now and to have agreement across the House to bypass the second reading process straight into committee stage now and then on to the final reading in a couple of days' time—assuming we progress with this committee stage tonight which I'm confident that we will.Now look I do just want to thank the submitters as well for their input through this process. There were a number of submitters that raised some really valid points within the consideration; some aspects that were slightly outside the scope of the bill in that they were more to do with the agreement itself. As Damien O'Connor had touched on there's a range of views around the level of access—whether that was sufficient or not—and we can constantly seek improvements in those things. I think whenever there is a trade agreement—or in fact any sort of negotiation—if both parties come out of it a little dissatisfied you probably got the balance about right.I guess it keeps that ambition there to strive for continued improvement over time. That's certainly something that we are very keen to do on this side of the House. No trade deal is ever complete: there's always an opportunity to enhance the relationship further to continue to work on to evolve to develop to deepen that relationship. That is really important for a trade-oriented nation such as New Zealand. Not just because of trade though but actually when you look at some of the increasing geopolitical tensions that we face around the globe at the moment it makes it increasingly important to be clear with our position on the international rules-based order our democratic values that underpin how we operate. Trade of course sits alongside that as well. So these are all important considerations that we were mindful of as we went through the consideration of this bill.In terms of these submitters I do just want to expand a little on that because there were some concerns raised around the enforcement regime in particular that's put in place through this legislation that we are debating and concerns around whether or not that was necessary. Ultimately we got to a position where it was clear through the free-trade agreement itself that did require an administrative mechanism to be established to enable that enforcement to be carried out here in New Zealand alongside the judicial process that could occur. So having that additional function created to enable that administrative mechanism where there were concerns around breaches of geographic indicators was an important part of enacting this free-trade agreement as it was put forward.So ultimately as I say we can always debate whether or not there was the best outcome or the right outcome. But this legislation I think has landed in a good place. As I say again this legislation is actually simply to enable the free-trade agreement that was agreed last year. It's not to make any changes and that was to some of the other aspects raised by submitters around whether we could have got or should have got a different level of access in their particular area of interest—red meat and dairy were two that came up in particular.But ultimately when you look at it from the perspective of NZ Inc." there are wonderful benefits in here there are some good aspects to the trade agreement and I'm confident that it will provide value to New Zealanders. Again the timeliness of that was the critical aspect here—bringing it into force; enabling that contribution to start a month earlier has a meaningful impact for exporters right now. Particularly when we're seeing some challenging economic situations domestically anything we can do in this House to help improve that situation is one of the rewarding things of being an MP I think to help those businesses succeed in their journey as exporters.So look I'm happy to support this bill. Thank the Minister again for their consideration and for members opposite for their support on this. Thank you."