Allan Kiritapu; Tolley AnneKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour): Well I must thank the previous speaker Paul Goldsmith for his wise words of advice that we listen to his sage command to you know consult and engage with people in a pragmatic and bipartisan way. Look I'm very proud of this Government which does exactly that. It is about providing space and opportunity for all New Zealanders to actually engage in the big issues that concern us.In this instance I must acknowledge though the trajectory of this bill. It commenced in December 2016—off the top of my head—under the previous Government and I want to acknowledge the work of our Minster of Revenue the Hon Stuart Nash for taking on and developing and working very hard with IRD officials and others to develop a fit for purpose tax scheme to ensure that multinationals are paying their fair share.I think just listening to this debate and having had the opportunity to contribute at all stages and also sitting in the Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC) and listening to the widespread concerns of the submitters I want to acknowledge that there have been a number of submissions from tax experts and practitioners that have expressed that perhaps this bill doesn't go far enough. Then there have been submissions to their contrary: that it's gone too far too fast. I must say it's actually a bit of a pleasure really to have been part of this process where we've had to work across the aisle to I guess work through the very nuanced considerations to make sure New Zealand remains a place where global business feels like they can call us home and conduct their affairs here but also to ensure that some of those companies we've seen that do operate globally that have adopted practices of aggressive tax planning and have effectively managed to dodge paying their fair amount—that we've tried to strike the right balance.So I actually really just want to acknowledge Carmel and all of her team at IRD for the work that they've put in working with practitioners and the industry. I also want to acknowledge the work of Therese. I know it was quite an oft-cited quote that she put in one of her papers to us on FEC that it was the most complicated piece of tax legislation that she'd seen in her 30-odd years. I do note that that was a sentiment that was reiterated across the board by many of the practitioners because what we've got here—New Zealand's not in isolation in trying to develop fit for purpose tax laws that apply themselves globally. Following from the G20 in December 2015 I think it was they came up with a 15-point plan. So you've had all of these countries across the world who are members of the OECD try to—the harm is that per annum there's approximately $240 billion of cash that the OECD considered wasn't being paid and their fair bit wasn't being done. At a more local and domestic level the cost of tax avoidance here by multinational corporations is considered to be around $500 million—that's gone up and down the scale but around about $500 million.I think for many folks when you're considering how that impacts real-life human beings it can be quite hard to sort of see how tax avoidance in a bubble can have a real-life impact but I just want to draw attention to the well-considered and well-thought-through submission of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission which drew on some remarks of the former UN expert on extreme poverty and human rights Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona. In that report in 2014 it said Although taxation policy may seem far removed from the daily problems of the poor it in fact plays a major role in determining and adjusting levels of inequality in a society and in funding essential services social protection and poverty reduction measures; it is therefore central to realizing the rights and defining the opportunities of people living in poverty."So I just want to really commend the work of our Minister of Revenue but I want to commend both sides of this House for being able to work together constructively over a very lengthy period of time to develop a piece of legislation that has been well guided by the officials to ensure that New Zealand's tax regulatory environment is fit for purpose in a global world and to ensure that multinational corporations who have decided to operate in New Zealand and call New Zealand their home are indeed in fact paying their fair share to our domestic revenue pot. So it's my pleasure to commend this bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I call Ian—Ian—McKelvie."