O'Connor Damien: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Procedure Referral to Health Committee Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
O'Connor Damien: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Procedure Referral to Health Committee Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:610;Page:7959] 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Associate Minister of Health) 
: 
 I acknowledge that the previous speaker Peter Brown has read the bill and rightly identified a few problems that can be improved on and one is the commencement. The dates in clause 1A are not all aligned and the Government intends to bring in an amendment to fix that in a technical way to ensure that the provisions around offences line up with the introduction of the main provisions and I put that on notice. There has been widespread consultation on this matter. I sat on the select committee for a year and went up and down the country hearing many many submissions on the bill. There were a large number of views from both sides of the argument. It was a very balanced debate and in the end that is why I feel confident that what we are moving ahead with is supported by a wide range of people up and down the country. 
I would also like to identify a few other improvements that the Government will be making through amendments. Some of them relate to technical difficulties brought up by cigarette companies in their attempts to sell cigarettes in some retail outlets. We are trying to ensure that in clause 2 “Interpretation” we identify what are tobacco cartons packages faces and pouches and ensure that where cigarettes are sold they are not sold alongside products that would normally be sold to children and thereby perhaps tempt children to buy tobacco products. The other changes we are proposing are as I said to clarify the definition of cartons and packages. In the last couple of weeks there was an attempt by one company to get around the proposals in this bill by coming up with a carton of I would have to say unusual dimensions. That has forced us to clarify in the bill the sizes of a carton the sizes of a pack and the face of a tobacco product to make sure that the generally agreed position of there being 100-count tobacco packages and 40-count cartons on display in one place can be adhered to by the cigarette companies. We have had to clarify those things through a Supplementary Order Paper which I will be putting up to ensure that it gives effect to the intent of Steve Chadwick’s bill. 
I think we are making reasonable progress on these issues and I will take the opportunity to speak on a few other amendments as they come up. We will not be as was previously indicated supporting the amendments put up by United Future. Many countries have considered the air-quality issue—Ireland California and numerous other countries and states in Australia—and they have all failed to accept it aside from the issue of the cost. One of the things we heard from right across the spectrum was that if we are going to make changes to protect workers then we should do it to all hospitality establishments. The issue with an air-quality standard and an extensive process of consultation as the member proposes to come up with a no doubt very expensive system would mean that many many establishments would go broke and could not afford that. 
 In the interest of protecting workers we have decided that we maintain a level playing field. In fact people in the industry have supported that position. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: The Minister should read the amendment before he speaks. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am aware of the amendment. Mr Dunne might maintain that a proper air-quality standard can be reached but the evidence—after investigation by not just New Zealand officials but by those in Ireland in California and throughout the world—shows that it is not reasonable to have an air-quality standard.