Sio Hon Aupito William; Tolley AnneHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Pacific Peoples): It's a pleasure to take a call on the PACER-Plus agreement. I want to begin firstly by acknowledging that more recently the right honourable Prime Minister with the Rt Hon Winston Peters led a delegation to the Pacific supported by members of this House and a strong community and business delegation from New Zealand. Prior to that delegation visiting the Pacific the tone and scene was set by the Rt Hon Winston Peters when he declared at a leadership forum that this new Government was looking at resetting its relationship with the Pacific. Many would have seen a number of reports in the media that flowed around as we were travelling from Samoa Niue Tonga and the Cook Islands that the leadership provided by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister was about treating the Pacific with respect treating it as a different kind of relationship—more of a partnership relationship. This was the first time for some of us who are new in our ministerial roles to sit and participate in the bilaterals that took place. I can say to this House that the number one issue that was raised constantly by the Governments we saw was the need for their island countries to grow their economic wealth to grow the benefits that go back to their people. So I think it's timely that we're talking about this PACER-Plus agreement.I've also been a student of the previous agreements the South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement (SPARTECA) which once existed in the 1980 and is a precursor to the PACER agreement in 2001 and now this one. In those days one of the biggest issues that the Pacific would highlight with us was the fact that the benefits of our trading arrangement were always one-way that the benefits were to New Zealand and that over the years from 1980 onwards it became harder and harder for the Pacific Island nations to secure some economic benefits to their own population because it was one-way mostly throughout those years. There was also a provision made in those days that where a product began its inception through the raw materials from New Zealand and was produced in the Islands it could also be exported from the Islands back to New Zealand and Australia and whoever was producing that product would have favourable benefits to them and they would not be charged out by increased tariffs at our borders. I think it worked at that time but I know that in the case of one such company called Yazaki—which once upon a time was in my electorate of Māngere producing wire harnesses for dryers refrigerators washing machines—it was once upon a time profitable to have it there. Then it moved to Samoa and now it no longer exists because of the competitive world that we live in.I've not been part of this PACER-Plus but I get a sense from the reports that I've seen and from the discussions with some of our counterparts in the Pacific that we're moving forward that there's a step up from the original SPARTECA agreement and that this PACER-Plus seems to be a renewed focus on creating with some sense of genuineness of recognising that the Pacific is a special area. I have said to the Rt Hon Winston Peters and a number of my colleagues that we really need to circle the Pacific and treat it with some distinction because of the Realm Island nations that are part of New Zealand—Niue the Cook Islands Tokelau—but also because of the special nature of the treaty of friendship; the one and only that New Zealand has with Samoa and other close relationships. But of the 400000 Pasifika people who live in New Zealand and call New Zealand their home all of those people have strong and deep connections back to the Pacific. It's in our interests that when these Pacific Island nations are strong and thriving and are generating wealth for the local population back in the islands it actually means less expectation or less burden on those of us who are living in New Zealand constantly engaging constantly providing remittances back to support our families and relatives whether it be for funerals or whether it be just basically helping them to move forward. We met on this trip to Samoa the Samoa Small Business Enterprise Centre and New Zealand has a significant investment in that. I saw the benefits many many years ago and those benefits continue in helping small businesses and social enterprises in making a profit but giving back to their community. For these small islands tourism seems to be their biggest focus at the moment. I know that in Niue what was raised by the Premier there was our assistance and support as they look to market themselves as a niche market for those high-value tourism dollars. So it is to the benefit of this country New Zealand that we support and do all we can in terms of ensuring that wealth is generated for the Pasifika for the Pasifika countries and that the potential employment opportunities are provided to the local population because when we do that when we assist the Pacific Island countries to be strong to be thriving we're actually helping ourselves move forward.I know that not all countries have signed up to this and this I suspect has a lot to do with the historical relationships and the way that perhaps we have treated the Pacific. So that's why I'm highlighting that the theme and the tone that the Prime Minister and Winston Peters set for this latest mission the first mission of this Government was important. It is important to look at that reset and many of us are going to be offering up our advice to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs about what it means to reset that relationship from a Pacific perspective providing a Pacific lens because that's important going forward.The relationships in these economic trade agreements are critical at personal levels not just at the Government levels but at personal levels. I think we have an asset in this country in the 400000 Pacific people whose potential we've not yet fully utilised. I know that when the Hon Shane Jones was our Pacific economic ambassador Matua Jones he got it. He understood those relationships because it's the same kind of relationships that we here in Aotearoa have to build with our various iwis up and down the country. I believe that at the higher level with the leadership of Winston Peters and the Prime Minister we're getting that. That's an important higher message. But that message also has to now filter to our officials—that the relationship of Aotearoa New Zealand is interlinked. There is that strong connection because the Pasifika population of New Zealand one of the youngest populations is the population that this country is going to have to rely on and depend on in years to come combined with the Māori population simply because it is the fastest growing. We're growing faster in numbers than other populations whether we like it or not.So I just want to re-emphasise that this is an important agreement going forward. Not all members of the Pacific are members of the World Trade Organization so it's important. But I believe this is a stepping stone and I think the scene that the Rt Hon Winston Peters has set by talking about this reset relationship a new partnership a new dawn for the Pacific is important for us to build on going forward.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I call the next speaker can I apologise to the member for the incorrect address and correct that for Hansard as the Hon Aupito William Sio.