Seymour David: Tariff (Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the Republic of Korea) Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSeymour David: Tariff (Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the Republic of Korea) Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 24 September 2015. Volume:709;Page:7089. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Are we not a House of Representatives? I rise on behalf of the ACT Party in support of this bill. The ACT Party has a long and proud tradition of supporting free trade and free-trade agreements. Why? Because free trade—voluntary transactions between countries—is mutually beneficial.Did we not hear today that the Green Party is still the party in this House that wants to let you buy and sell marijuana but will not let you buy and sell anything else especially if foreigners are involved? If you could imagine that there was a policy that was capable of dragging hundreds of millions of people out of poverty around the world and as those people got wealthier they were motivated and able to clean up their environments including the long detour we took to a tailings pond in Mongolia then would you not think that the Green Party would be in favour of that policy that reduces poverty increases human welfare and gives people the means to be better environmental custodians? Would you not think that the Green Party would be in favour of that? But we see that the new refreshed business-friendly Green Party still has a very very long way to go.I thought about rebutting some of the points that New Zealand First made but unfortunately I do not think that its member Tracey Martin actually made any so I will have to move along to my next point.This bill could be ratifying—or at least approving—an agreement that could go much much further. We still have remaining tariffs and we still have safeguard measures. If you truly believe in free trade there is no justification for those. Unilateral free trade is what increases the welfare of New Zealanders and for those of us still stuck in the 1800s mercantilism I can tell you—Denis O’Rourke: Are you? Are you stuck there?DAVID SEYMOUR: Eighteenth century sorry 17th century—the member is correct in reminding me. I can tell you that the welfare of New Zealanders is helped by being able to access goods at an affordable price and that is one thing that has done an enormous amount for reducing poverty in New Zealand as well as overseas.There were some interesting asides from the otherwise excellent free-trade members of the Labour Party suggesting that this bill should allow New Zealand the ability to block Koreans from buying property in Auckland. They said that Australia had this provision. I believe we should make public policy based on the evidence and ask how that is working for the Australians. The truth is that despite the restrictions on buying existing dwellings in Sydney the housing affordability in that city is still worse than it is in Auckland. The policy simply has not worked. You just have to ask yourself why that may be. We do not see speculative bubbles from foreigners in any other area. [Interruption]All right well Mr Assistant Speaker I am addressing points raised earlier by members. If that is not going to be allowed in the debate I will have to move on to the investor-State dispute settlement provision which was part of this free-trade agreement and was addressed by earlier members. Will it be acceptable to address that Mr Assistant Speaker? Thank you.We had a very wise contribution from David Shearer on the threshold that needs to be reached before investor-State dispute settlement provisions are activated. It is true that there has never been one brought against the New Zealand Government. It is very unlikely that there ever will be. But if we expect people to invest in New Zealand from overseas then they will expect to have a mechanism by which they can protect their property rights. I just wish that David Shearer could take those very wise and eloquent words and maybe impart them to the members who sit usually to his left. If only they could take off their tinfoil hats and hear what he has to say.In conclusion free trade is a quintessentially New Zealand policy. No other jurisdiction of only 4 million or 5 million people in the world isolates itself from being able to trade with much larger markets. So it is that I am proud to support this debate and this bill supporting the New Zealand - Korea free-trade agreement and I look forward to the great prosperity it will bring to New Zealand as every other free-trade agreement to date has. Thank you.