Salesa Jenny; Bayly AndrewPLANT VARIETY RIGHTS BILLIn CommitteeDebate resumed from 31 August.Part 4 Grant of plant variety rights (continued)CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa): Members we come now to the Plant Variety Rights Bill. Members when we were last debating this bill we were debating Part 4 which is the debate on clauses 28 to 51 Grant of plant variety rights". The question is that Part 4 stand part.ANDREW BAYLY (National—Port Waikato): Thank you Madam Chair. I want to talk to my Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 192 which deals with clauses 28 52 and 56 and a number of other clauses relating to this. This is just by way of background because we've sort of jumped in the middle of a debate and everyone homing in on TV will be trying to work it out. There have been certain discussions on the bill but the SOP that I've put up really relates to the issue of who has the jurisdiction to approve plant variety rights. As the Chair will no doubt know there is a tribunal that has overall responsibility but the bill introduces a new committee called the Māori Plant Varieties Committee. It's noted in the commentary that the committee will consider applications for plant variety rights—PVRs—in relation to indigenous and certain non-indigenous plant species. It would further assess the effect that granting such PVRs could have on kaitiaki relationships and make decisions about whether or not the PVR application should proceed. So my SOP that has been put forward deals with the issue of this approval process. I'm sort of turning my mind specifically to clause 28 the granting of a PVR. Under the existing way that the bill is constructed the freedom may apply to the commissioner for a plant variety to be considered—to have the rights—but the commissioner must consider the application in accordance with subclauses (3) and (4) of clause 28. Those bits are that "After considering the application the Commissioner must—(a) grant the PVR to the applicant"—so must grant it—"(i) if satisfied that the criteria for granting a PVR in section 30 are met; and (ii) in a case where Part 5 applies if the Māori Plant Varieties Committee has informed the Commissioner under section 65 that the application should proceed;" and over the page it talks about the Māori Plant Varieties Committee having the ability to decide. My SOP suggests and proposes—and it's important that we have a Māori plant varieties committee to deal with indigenous plants but it shouldn't be a decisive body. It shouldn't be a body that decides; it should be one that advises the commissioner. So it doesn't take away from the Māori Plant Varieties Committee the ability to have regard and consider plant matter that's certainly indigenous. Some of the definition around "non-indigenous" probably needs to be discussed further and I will further it in a further contribution but what it says is that it should advise the commissioner because the commissioner is the one that has the ultimate decision-making power. But under the way that the bill is constructed this means that if the application doesn't get past the Māori Plant Varieties Committee it will not proceed to the commissioner.So I'd like to propose that SOP. It has a ripple effect across a number of the clauses of the bill but certainly I'd like to hear from the Minister as to his view on whether or not and why this shouldn't be the case. I look forward to that contribution. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa): I call Andrew Bayly. ANDREW BAYLY (National—Port Waikato): Thank you. Well we'll carry right along. So we're waiting for the Minister to get some advice which would be great.So my second point which I just alluded to—I hadn't intended to be continuing on but let's move right along—is the issue around the jurisdiction of the Māori Plant Varieties Committee. As I said before the committee would consider applications for a PVR—a plant variety right—in relation to indigenous and certain non-indigenous plant species. So the one thing I am very keen to hear from the Minister is what "certain non-indigenous plant species" are. Of course when you sit and think about it for more than two minutes it is an issue as to—you know plants develop over time. You have hybrid species and sometimes it's intentional and sometimes it's a matter of nature at its best in terms of bringing hybrid vigour to the different plant varieties. So having an understanding of what "certain non-indigenous plant species" means in relation to the Māori Plant Varieties Committee having jurisdiction over that again I would just—thank you Mr Parker for being in the chair and I welcome Minister Dr David Clark. So I'm just letting him have a moment here while he gets up to speed.So Minister I have asked two questions. Certainly one is around my Supplementary Order Paper 192 about making the Māori Plant Varieties Committee have an advisory capacity because ultimately it should be the commission that decides on applications in relation to indigenous and certain non-indigenous plant species. The second aspect is: what does a "non-indigenous plant species" mean in relation to the Māori Plant Varieties Committee jurisdiction? So hopefully you've had time to consider those two matters."