Little AndrewHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister responsible for the GCSB): Madam Speaker thank you. I rise to take a short call on the Russia Sanctions Bill. I want to begin as many members of the House today have done by just acknowledging the horror of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the absolute tragedy that is being played out in many towns and cities in many parts of Ukraine and the cynicism too with which the Russian regime has waged this war purporting to offer safe passage to those who are in exile knowing that the passage they were offering would lead to Belarus and then to Russia and then opening fire on those purported safe passages. Vladimir Putin has proven himself to be an evil leader waging an evil war and we send our support to the people of Ukraine and our admiration for Volodymr Zelenskyy and the incredible leadership that he is providing in those incredible circumstances.This bill provides New Zealand with an opportunity to respond to join the rest of the global community in doing what we can to put meaningful pressure on Russia and those who run its Government those who run its economy to bring home to that country to its political leadership and to the elites in its society that the conduct of Russia in global affairs and particularly in relation to its war on Ukraine is simply unacceptable. This gives us the means to do that. But we should also acknowledge that in doing this this is a significant departure from our foreign policy—our consensus foreign policy—that we have operated under for many years. We can have an independent foreign policy and we do and subscribe to the international institutions that are part of a stable world order. That is what we have subscribed to. As a small country and therefore a vulnerable country the international institutions that provide for peace and stability and the good conduct of international relations are absolutely vital.So I don't get what I hear from the other side of the House—that we sort of attack the international institutions even when they're found to be wanting as they are in this instance; that somehow we abandon all that and we kind of throw caution to the wind and an independent foreign policy means that we have no meaningful relationships with other countries. I just say too that previous Governments have had the opportunity to introduce autonomous sanctions legislation. The previous Government did consider it at the time of Russia's last invasion into Ukraine when it annexed the Crimean Peninsula but it decided not to. It had a majority. It could have done but it did not do so because it was as conscious as this Government is of the consensus that has governed foreign relations and the way this country governs its foreign relations.But we stand with the rest of the world and I rise to express my incredible admiration and support for our Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and the way she has conducted herself in that office in all respects. But in relation to this conflict it has been as you would expect from a New Zealand foreign affairs Minister: measured appropriate gauged against what our likeminded countries and partners do around the rest of the world and to take proper action. And having seen that the United Nations General Assembly is capable of expressing its opposition to the conduct of Russia it is right that we follow that and that we take appropriate actions and that's what this bill does. So on that note I commend this bill to the House.