Eckhoff Gerrard: Meat Board Restructuring Bill — Second Reading 
Eckhoff Gerrard: Meat Board Restructuring Bill — Second Reading 
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GERRARD ECKHOFF (ACT) 
: 
 It is with real pride that I stand in the House as a genuine farmer— 
R Doug Woolerton 
: Genuine? 
GERRARD ECKHOFF 
: Yes a very genuine one. I think I have removed the manure from under my fingernails! In fact standing here makes me reflect that I should have brought my Driza-Bone hat to wear. I note that Mr Nandor Tanczos from the Green Party wears his tea cosy in the House so I cannot see why a genuine farmer cannot do something of a similar nature. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is actually a tam not a tea cosy. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I accept what the member says. I point out to Mr Eckhoff that his comment was a personal reflection on the member under Standing Order 116. He will stand and withdraw. 
GERRARD ECKHOFF 
: I am happy to stand and withdraw. I meant no disrespect to the member. It was just an observation. 
John Carter 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Although you have every right to direct the member himself did not take offence. He made a correction. He had the right to take offence and ask for a withdrawal which he did not do. It seems quite odd that the member on his feet should now be directed to withdraw—which he has done—given that the member himself made a correction but did not seem to take offence. It is odd that you intervened. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: The honourable member makes a good point but on reflection it is offensive to liken my head to a teapot in which case I think a withdrawal is in order. [ 
Interruption 
] 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: All right we have had our fun. I thank all honourable members very much for their contributions but I do require a withdrawal and apology. 
GERRARD ECKHOFF 
: I withdraw and apologise. As I mentioned earlier it is a matter of considerable pride for me to stand and speak on a matter that does concern the wider farming industry. I have to say that the meat industry despite the very sound rhetoric I have heard so far is under real threat. One has only to look at the newspapers daily to understand the threat to the industry from the environmental lobby and the cost structures that local government and central government impose on the industry on a regular basis. So there is real concern about the future. 
But when we compare the past with where we are today we have to say the industry can take great pride in its achievements. I doubt very much whether any other industry in this country has achieved as much as the meat industry has achieved over the last one and a half decades. When we look at the high-tech industry and at items such as computers we see there has been a huge fall in those commodity prices. Yet when we look at the commodity price for lamb—a product much maligned for years—we see that it continues on a steady march upwards. The commodity price for lamb has risen dramatically over the last 20 years and that hugely reflects the ability of the industry and the fact that it is almost entirely deregulated. It is no longer controlled by Government. We no longer see Budgets where the Minister of Finance stands and announces supplementary minimum prices or some other kind of incentive to assist the industry. The industry actually works well without Government input. That is something that all other industries and all aspects of our social life could well reflect on. I pick up on a point made earlier by other speakers that is worth reflecting on and that is that in the past many people regarded the meat and wool industries as sunset industries. I think maybe Jenny Shipley made some reference to that in the past. Nothing could be further from the truth in terms of where our meat industry has been and where it is heading. 
Some concerns were expressed by members of the Primary Production Committee and I am delighted the influence of the centre-right shall we say— 
R Doug Woolerton 
: Centre-right? 
GERRARD ECKHOFF 
: Mr Woolerton takes a jump back in horror at being regarded as part of the centre-right. But the influence of the committee members was quite significant in a number of aspects. The biggest issue for me personally is the quota which has been alluded to by other speakers. I make the point that the quota is regarded as terribly important but I am one who does not believe that the quota is owned or should be controlled by the Government. As Mr Ardern pointed out a Government negotiates these things. A former Government negotiated the Closer Economic Relations agreement for example; does that mean the Government should have some form of influence over somebody— 
Shane Ardern 
: It does on some. 
GERRARD ECKHOFF 
: I thank the member for that point. Should the Government have some sort of influence over the way in which Trade and Enterprise works and should it have representatives on that board to get some Government point of view across to the industry? I do not think anybody would suggest that is appropriate. 
As we go through the Committee stage it is important to recognise that the majority of farmers did not vote. When the ballot was put before them as to whether the meat and wool industries should be amalgamated and called some sort of pastoral board the majority did not vote. Of those who did vote I think 83 percent voted in favour. I repeat that the majority of farmers in this country did not vote for this bill or for the restructuring of the industry. I suggest to members that that is something we—and indeed members of the Meat Board—should reflect on. The fact is the majority of farmers in this country do not see boards or associations or anything of that nature as relevant to their profession any more. They work alongside their meat company or their dairy company or their wool industry representatives. They do not see the relevance of a meat board or a wool board to a very large degree. So I make that point which I think is very important and one that Mr Grant and the Meat Board would do well to reflect on. It is worth noting that a mere handful of farmers actually bothered to turn up at the first annual meeting of Meat and Wool New Zealand—a handful! That again reflects the fact that the industry is totally deregulated and the relevance of a board is brought into question by a lot of industry members. 
But there is no doubt that there is a need to ensure that the quota is fairly and reasonably administered. We have just gone through a major exercise in this Chamber called a scampi inquiry into the allocation of quota. Those in the Labour Government might do well to listen for a moment or two. There is also a case before the Privy Council at this very time on the issue of meat quota because there are those within the industry who say it was not fairly allocated. I note that a member of the Labour Government agrees with me on the point that an allocation committee should not only be independent but should be seen to be independent. I have grave concerns that there are members of the Meat Industry Association who although they do not sit on the allocation committee sit on the full board which actually talks and discusses these things. I think allocation of quota is probably one of the single most important aspects of this bill. The Government says it is necessary to have two members appointed by the Government to sit on this board. Well I do not and I do not believe that National—and possibly New Zealand First—feels that way. But I am not prepared to die in a ditch on this issue. We will see how it will go. 
Brian Connell 
: Oh why not? 
GERRARD ECKHOFF 
: Well if I die in a ditch it will be alongside a couple of my National Party colleagues as well no doubt. I am not sure that it is totally necessary but we have got a couple of representatives and I hope the Minister will ensure that those appointed have the necessary commercial expertise to assist. I hope he does not put the old Blue Kennedy types on the board just because the Government can appoint those sorts of people. 
As I said earlier this industry has an extremely bright future but its future will be fully exploited only if Government and controls are kept right out of its way into the future.