O'Connor GregNAISI CHEN (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'd like to start off my contribution by acknowledging the horrendous weather events that we've been having across Aotearoa New Zealand. These moments are trying for our nation and I think there's no other team in this country right now that has been tried more than our new ministerial line-up that had just been appointed before the Auckland floods and now the cyclone as well. I am so proud of the new Ministers that have been appointed and our new Prime Minister who have been tasked to lead our country out of the devastating effects of the cyclone and the flooding but also to build back better after these horrific weather disasters. Lots of people in the electorate have been telling me that this is a Labour team a new Labour team that has received a baptism by fire and we stood up to the challenges. But like I think my colleague Vanushi Walters said yesterday this is a team that puts people at its heart people before politics. And I too want to recognise all of the other members of this House who have rolled up their sleeves and got into helping their communities. During the first Auckland flooding and the days after I saw the best of our communities. I saw businesses who were willing to donate unlimited amounts of food grocery products—a shout-out to lots and lots of different Asian supermarkets that reached out to me; a particular healthcare provider who was able to supply us with disposable gloves and single-use items. I especially shout out to one of our personal care hygiene companies/manufacturers in New Zealand who were able to give us toothpaste body wash shampoo—those essential items that were so badly needed in those emergency centres across Aotearoa. I was just so privileged to just be a little tiny part of that response in order to witness the amount of generosity our community has for each other. I'm extremely and particularly pleased that we now have a Minister for Auckland in the Hon Michael Wood. And I was just really relieved to hear our Prime Minister talk about Auckland saying that if Auckland is well the rest of the country is well and recognising that Auckland as the largest city in New Zealand is the powerhouse to our economic recovery whether that was post-COVID or now it's post cyclone and flooding as well.And straight after the appointments a week later we had the Minister of small and medium enterprises the Hon Ginny Andersen coming up to Auckland and meeting with so many business associations around the table at the Employers and Manufacturers Association. And it was actually during that meeting I saw the humility and the care that she had for small businesses and the understanding she had of that sector in such a short amount of time. I saw the commitment she had as well in terms of being able to be there for that sector and to be advocating strongly around the Cabinet table for that sector. It's Ministers like her that really make me see that the road ahead for us in the near future will be one that we will do cohesively and we'll do confidently and it will be one that we do together with our communities as well. In Auckland it is going to be a very trying time as it is when we hear about the news in Hawke's Bay in Gisborne and a special acknowledgment to our colleagues over there the Hon Stuart Nash Anna Lorck the Hon Kiritapu Allan and the Hon Meka Whaitiri. They are MPs who are on the ground every day with their communities. We've heard about the devastation there has been especially to our horticultural viticultural and agricultural sectors and we know that a lot of those communities there will be still feeling the effects of that cyclone for many more weeks months and even years to come. And so we all commit our energy and also just our aroha to that region as well in supporting them. One of the things that I had been reflecting on as the cyclone hit the East Coast of New Zealand is actually our trade. Trade to New Zealand is such an important component of our economic wellbeing. And whether that's trade in terms of with some of the bigger players in the world the bigger countries the bigger markets like China the UK or the EU or even smaller countries like Korea Japan Vietnam that we've been setting up over the last few years—those are milestone free-trade agreements that this Government has gotten over the line has signed has done the deal. And those will be the free-trade agreements and those significant relationships we have internationally that will also help us navigate out of our next financial hardship we have on the horizon.As I reflect on when all the crops in Hawke's Bay were being destroyed and affected what is the next milestone for trade? And I reflect on things like a more sustainable future. When I was in Chile with the Speaker on the Speaker's delegation last year to Latin America the Latin American market was telling us that they want to consume products from overseas with a conscience. So what does that mean? It means that they want to know that their products have been grown sustainably. They want to know that they've been paid a fair wage and those who have been in the supply chain. They want to know that the products that they're consuming are not having the detrimental effect on the planet as other products are compared to other nations. So this I hope is a turning point in our nation where we start to really embrace our sustainable future and not look at that just as yes we have to sacrifice some of the productivity or we have to look at the costs of where we have to take that away from some of the income earning that we have to do. I want this House to see the next phase of trade and sustainability as opportunity for New Zealand so that we get ahead and so that we are actually reacting to what consumers what the markets actually really want from New Zealand which is that clean green 100% Pure" New Zealand. Over the weekend as well I was really privileged to step in on behalf of the Hon Peeni Henare to welcome the very first tour group from China to New Zealand. China had been New Zealand's second largest tourism market pre-pandemic and finally after so many years—almost three years actually more than three years—we finally welcomed the very first tour group. And gosh it was exciting. It was very memorable. So like I said if we are to sell our image as "100% Pure" New Zealand as our tourism branding then we need to live up to that expectation. So that's why I'm really proud as chair of the Economic Development Science and Innovation (EDSI) Committee that we've been pushing through legislation like the freedom camping legislation to make sure that all those who come on to our shores those who actually choose New Zealand as their tourism destination actually leave it just as clean as when they first found it. And speaking of the EDSI Committee we know that right now the cost of living is on the mind of every single New Zealander as one of their biggest concerns. And you would have heard in the Prime Minister's statement that he was addressing our Government's plans to tackle that and to support New Zealanders through a very hard time. In the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee we've been actually working really hard in the recess trying to pass the Grocery Industry Competition Bill and there's been about three that have come through our select committee—and a shout-out to the new Minister the Hon Dr Duncan Webb—there we go! There's a few more prefixes for him. That bill is such a great bill in the sense that it not only addresses the land that supermarkets put covenants on but right now also the current bill is addressing the supply chain issues as well. We had the grocery sector come into our select committee and talk about how their profit margins weren't as high as we thought they were and then how they did that whole 6.8 percent I think price comparison as compared to the inflation. We heard all of that. But then as we took a deeper look into the supermarket sector we started realising that the statistics that they were telling us of just the label price increase wasn't counting things like merchandising fees wasn't counting the fact that they were charging producers for their product placement and for promotion as well and that suppliers to supermarkets actually have to pay for labour to go and do the shelving as well. So as we dived deeper into the supermarket sector we realised the importance of competition in that sector. And this Government through our legislation is shining a light on that sector and also bringing them in line with what is in the best interests of New Zealand. By being able to tackle the lack of competition in that area we are able to hopefully bring a better deal to all New Zealanders and bring about competition in our grocery sector and I really really hope that more and more supermarkets will choose New Zealand to be their next country to venture into and that we can actually provide an environment to do business that is fair that is sustainable and that is actually to the benefit of all New Zealanders. That's the future we're going to help achieve for New Zealand and that's why I support the Prime Minister's statement. DEPUTY SPEAKER: This is a split call. Five minutes Sam Uffindell."