Carter David: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Carter David: Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
[Sitting date: 23 September 2008. Volume:650;Page:18999. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 For a start I want to put on record my thanks to Winston Peters for the cheque of $9600 that we received last week as full and final settlement of a case that he lost. Thank you very much I say to him. It took a long time to get it. It was probably the threat of bankruptcy proceedings that did it. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You cannot have a man get up and say that a transaction was done because of the threat of bankruptcy. That is humbug. The member has no right to make that sort of statement at all. We paid Mr Carter because we always have paid people when we have to—not for the kinds of vile selfish venal reasons he has but because it is called honour.  
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Speaking to the point of order I want to say that payment was received only after the second letter was sent to Brian Henry saying that unless money was received bankruptcy proceedings would be initiated. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: There he goes again. That cannot possibly be true. As he well knows any such letter had to be sent to the instructing solicitor who is Dennis Gates—not Brian Henry who is the barrister sole and does not get such correspondence. Whether the member’s lawyers are so stupid as to send it to the wrong man I do not know. But I know that the cheque that Mr Carter got came from Dennis Gates. I ask the member whether the cheque came from Dennis Gates—yes or no. [ 
Interruption 
] The answer is that yes he does not know what he is talking about. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I think that we have had our fun and I think that both members have made a contribution. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: I would certainly like to speak to the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill which the Rt Hon Winston Peters has just spoken on—probably as the deemed Minister of Fisheries in the Labour - New Zealand First Government. Of course in recent weeks he has had more contact with the fishing industry— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You cannot surely have a front-bench member of the National Party demonstrate his hopeless ignorance by referring to a Labour - New Zealand First Government. There is no such thing. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: It is a debatable point Mr Peters and I will not tolerate frivolous points of order. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: The Labour-Progressive Government has been supported ably in recently months by the New Zealand First Party as it has maintained its position in Parliament. 
I was saying that Mr Peters has had more contact with the fishing industry than the actual Minister of Fisheries particularly over the last few weeks with regular contact with the likes of Mr Simunovich and Mr Vela— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Can we just keep to the bill please. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. See he is at it again. He is making it up as he goes along. I have had no contact whatsoever recently with Mr Simunovich. I would not even know where he is living. That is the kind of deceit that member engages in all the time.  
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: What we are having may well lead to chaos and I am not going to have that in this House. We will have order. This is a place for full and vigorous debate but contributions will be made with respect for the traditions of the House as enshrined in the Standing Orders. That is why I am on my feet—because I represent those Standing Orders. I crave your respect for them and your understanding. Let us get back to the debate.  
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: The biggest contribution that the Labour Government supported by New Zealand First has made to aquaculture during the last 9 years is this pamphlet I have here produced in June 2007. It is a very fancy brochure and states: “Now is the time to get out on the water whatever the weather and join the journey.” Join the journey! The brochure is signed by six Ministers. The first is the Hon David Benson-Pope the Minister for the Environment but he is not that any more; he was fired. Then there is the Hon Chris Carter the Minister of Conservation but he is no longer the Minister of Conservation. Then there is the Hon Parekura Horomia the Minister of Maori affairs; he is the only one who has kept his job. Next is the Hon Trevor Mallard the Minister for Industry and Regional Development but I do not think he has that job any more. Then there is the Hon Jim Anderton the Minister of Fisheries. Last is the Hon Mark Burton the Minister of Local Government but he is another one who has been fired. 
I make the point to Clayton Cosgrove who is interjecting that despite producing a very expensive and fancy brochure the Labour Government has done nothing to promote the aquaculture industry. The industry both domestic and international is currently worth about $300 million and it has potential to do significantly better. All that the Government had to do was to pass legislation that would facilitate aquaculture development. The member Winston Peters was in this House supporting the Labour Government’s legislation in 2004 and as my colleague Phil Heatley has pointed out subsequent to that legislation the amount of new aquaculture space that has been created in this country is zero. I say to Mr Peters and the Labour Ministers: “Well done on producing a fancy brochure!”. 
We are today passing this little bill in an attempt to patch up what was completely unworkable. Doug Woolerton was not on the Primary Production Committee in 2004 but what the select committee told the Minister at the time— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: How did you mess up that selection? 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: I think Mr Cosgrove might have been on the select committee in those days. The select committee told Mr Benson-Pope as the Minister that the legislation would not work. Mr Benson-Pope did not listen to the select committee but the proof of the pudding is in the eating because the legislation has not worked. Today we have a little bill that patches up but one court case.  
R Doug Woolerton 
: The actual fact of the matter is that the area has now been filled with product. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Mr Woolerton sat on the select committee. He heard people saying that not one new aquaculture area has been created and he is now saying there is lots of product. Mr Woolerton should listen when he is sitting on the select committee. What we have today is this single piece of legislation and all that it does is attempt to sort out a mess that we knew was likely to occur. It concerns a particular area in Tasman Bay where some resourceful fishers under the name of SMW Consortium applied to occupy space before the Tasman District Council had actually deemed it to be an aquaculture management area. All that we are doing now is pass legislation in the dying days of this Parliament to patch that up. If we look further down the Order Paper we see another bill of a far more technical nature we are told which will try to further tidy up the mess.  
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: You will struggle. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: If Clayton Cosgrove had only listened when he sat on that select committee as a humble backbencher he could have worked with us in 2004 to pass legislation that would allow this industry to reach its potential. He could have been part of historic legislation being passed through this House. It would have had the label of the Labour Government on it and it would have been successful. But Mr Cosgrove would only do what David Benson-Pope would tell him to do. As a consequence no new aquaculture spaces have been created and we have a little bill today to patch up but one silly mistake made by David Benson-Pope and another bill sitting on the Order Paper to try to further patch up the mess. But they will not be enough. Mark my words the aquaculture industry will not get ahead until satisfactory legislation comes before the House that recognises the potential of the industry and allows our space to be utilised.  
Hon Rick Barker 
: Why is that member running a family business? 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: He is running it into the ground.  
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Minister Barker asks why I am not running a family business. Well for that Minister’s information—and what it has to do with aquaculture legislation I do not have a clue—I do run a family business and I do it with substantially more success than that Minister will ever do anything. That is the difference between this side of the Chamber and that side. Over here we have people who have run businesses and understand what makes businesses work. On the other side they have nobody. They had one guy called Jim Sutton. He knew how to fill out a GST return and they fired him. Helen Clark fired him. That is the difference between this side and the other side. We actually know how to run businesses. The select committee in 2004 heard from a substantial number of submitters who ran small family businesses in the Marlborough Sounds and they said to the committee in front of Mr Cosgrove: “You get this legislation right and we’ll stay in New Zealand but you get it wrong and we’ll take our expertise to Australia and Chile.” Does Mr Barker know what happened? Those people have gone to South Australia. Who is the loser? Well certainly the Labour Government is the loser and deservedly so but the real loser is the whole of the New Zealand economy.  
R Doug Woolerton 
: They have not gone at all. Rubbish! 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Doug Woolerton can chip in all he likes but he was part of the party that supported the Government to pass legislation that has not worked and will not work. This bill is a small band-aid to patch up the problem. It will not be enough to fix the underlying problem and to give the industry a real chance. The industry has huge potential billion-dollar potential and could be a goer if only we had a Government that knew a little bit about business knew a lot about fishing and would create the legislative framework to get the industry going.