Lees-Galloway Iain: Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2557. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I would like to like the Associate Minister of Health the Hon Tariana Turia did acknowledge the over two decades now of work on reducing the impact of tobacco and the harm that tobacco causes to our communities. The Minister mentioned the introduction of the Smoke-free Environments Act in 1990 which I believe was introduced by Helen Clark. There have been other members—Tukoroirangi Morgan I know did a lot of work and Stevie Chadwick of course. She actually had a pretty rough time when she introduced legislation to reduce the impact of tobacco. I would like to acknowledge Dr Paul Hutchison who actually had the fortitude to cross the floor at times when his party was not quite seeing things the right way. Dr Hutchison crossed the floor and voted with the Labour Government and other parties to put in place the right legislation to reduce the impact of tobacco. And of course I would like to acknowledge the Minister. Her work over the last 3 to 4 years has been just stupendous and has really driven this agenda where we now have a target of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025. I applaud the Minister for all the measures that she has been able to guide through Parliament—the excise tax increases the removal of tobacco displays which we will actually start to see happening in the months ahead and now this measure the Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill which we on this side of the House are happy to support.  
We understand of course that increasing tax is a burden on people but the message is really clear: if you want to relieve yourself of that burden give up the smokes. It is as simple as that—give up the smokes. It will do more than just put money in your pocket; it will put years on your life and it will put life in your years. It is well— 
Hon Simon Bridges 
: And a spring in your step. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: And a spring in your step Simon. So we absolutely support this move on this side of the House.  
We look forward to more progress in other areas as well. The Minister mentioned stopping people smoking in cars. We on this side of the House would prefer to focus on stopping people smoking in cars when there are children present in the car. We think that is the more important area to focus on. Children cannot make that decision themselves. They cannot ask an adult to not smoke and we would like to see smoking prohibited in vehicles where there are children under the age of 18 present. That seems like a good next step.  
I would also like to congratulate the Maori Party and I know the Green Party is on the same page because like the Labour Party their position on tobacco control measures has been absolutely consistent over the years. The same of course cannot be said for our friends on the other side of the House. Their conversion to supporting tobacco control measures is entirely down to Tariana Turia. I do not believe—well I did not believe—that this bill would be coming into the House if Tariana Turia was not a member of the Government because this just is not the sort of thing that the National Party has ever voted for.  
But there is one thing that has maybe just made me think about that. I think that maybe actually even in the absence of the Maori Party National would have brought this bill to Parliament this year but for different motivations—completely different motivations. Because it will raise $528 million over the next 4 to 5 years and we know that this Government is scrounging around everywhere to try to get revenue from wherever it can. We know it has been picking the pockets of the paper boys and paper girls. We know it has been cutting funding for our older people who want to go into rest homes. We know all the different ways that this Government is tinkering around the edges to try to find some revenue and here is another way. So it disappoints me that a good robust evidence-based public health measure that we should actually be celebrating is really being supported by those members over there because they are desperate to make up the hole in their revenue caused by mismanagement of this economy and unsustainable unaffordable tax cuts that they brought in during their last term of Government. That is where the support for this bill in the National Party really comes from.  
Dr Hutchison wants me to wind up. I know the optics are not good on this are they Dr Hutchison? I know that the member supports this for the right reasons but his colleagues around him do not feel quite the same way. We know why they are really supporting this bill today. It is because of the failure of this Government to actually grow New Zealand’s economy. We have seen it time and time again and in fact that is the only reason that each of the three pieces of legislation that we have debated under urgency over the last 24 hours have actually come to the House this week—because this Government has failed to grow the economy.  
However I do want to just finish by again applauding the Minister on this move. This from a public health perspective is absolutely the right direction. It is a next step in the journey that started decades ago and hopefully a journey that we will be able to complete maybe in 10 or 12 years’ time from now when we actually see New Zealand becoming smoke-free. Thank you.