SpeechHon NATHAN GUY (National—Ōtaki): Thank you. Just while the Minister for Climate Change is talking to his officials to seek some advice I thought it's worth taking a call. Can I acknowledge the Minister in the chair this evening—normally a little bit closer on the front table there but I understand the situation that we find ourselves in. The Parliament is sitting under COVID-19 response conditions. I also want to acknowledge the Minister and the way that he's been open in answering our questions. Madam Chair you covered that off nicely before saying that we're using this opportunity to glean some information and those that are—Hon Scott Simpson: It's very useful. Hon NATHAN GUY: —it has been useful Mr Simpson—listening will also be I think well engaged in the question and answer session that we're having this evening. Just following on from the Hon David Bennett who posed some very good questions I'm quite keen to drill a little bit deeper into this impact that the commission's going to have a look at to do with afforestation in the future. We know that it is a live issue in certain rural provincial parts of New Zealand right now. We're seeing large chunks of land in fact in Stuart Nash's electorate which he may visit up into the Wairoa District occasionally. Mayor Little has no doubt been on the phone to the local MP saying how concerned he is about losing jobs in that community because of afforestation. So I'm keen to understand what the parameters are that the Minister is going to set for the commission to delve into the detail to try and understand. Is it when the rugby clubs close down and the local primary school's gone as a result of afforestation? That's what we are most concerned about at the moment so it'd be really good to try and set the record straight there. Another question that I have is that the Minister indicated that we're heading very quickly into a $35 a tonne carbon price for the next year or so and we know that it's been bouncing around at $20 $25. We know it's softened a bit because of COVID-19 and I think everyone gets that point. I'm keen to understand from you—I think the fuel price at the moment as part of that is about 4c. I'm hearing that it could be 9c or 10c a litre as a result of going to $35 a tonne. [Interruption] Sorry? Hon James Shaw: Never mind. Hon NATHAN GUY: OK. So I'd appreciate you putting my mind to rest that it is not going to be that high—that's the indication I just got from you then. It'd be good to hear some detail on that. The other point is the costs on food production as a result potentially of going to a processor levy. At the moment we've got the agreement between the primary sector leaders out there trying to sell that to rural communities for farmers to get on board with technology and the Government's contribution to supporting farm plans and more technology in the lab and on farm and all of those sorts of things—so that's a tick from me. But if for some reason in a couple of years the Minister for Climate Change and the Minister of Agriculture deem when they get advice from the commission that this isn't going fast enough then the fear that I have is that those Ministers can just say Well we're now heading to a processor level." and that will mean that all of the good work that's currently happening on farm will just go down the drain because a processor level emissions rate or tax—I'm going to call it—is not going to change behaviour. My farm here versus the neighbour's farm—we could be doing things completely different in terms of managing emissions and to have a blunt instrument as a processor tax is not going to change behaviour inside the farm gate. So I'm very curious to know at that trigger point of I think it's 2022 when the Ministers will be colluding talking to the commission about it—at what point is it that Ministers are satisfied that the agriculture industry is heading in the right direction and they're not going to make a knee-jerk reaction and go to a processor levy/tax which is ultimately going to mean we're less competitive in the international market place? That is really important right now when you think about farmers and agriculture processors really dragging the plough through this COVID response. They're the big part of the New Zealand economy that doesn't get well acknowledged. When tourism is on its knees people look to the primary sector and say "Thank you for what you're doing." I'd hate for the election to come and go and for the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister for Climate Change from potentially a left-leaning Government to get together and say "Well farmers haven't done enough. We're now heading to the crude pricing mechanism." So I'd really appreciate the Minister answering my concerns and questions. Thank you."