Ngarewa-Packer DebbieDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Pāti Māori): I'd like to take the call if that's OK? Thank you. So first of all Minister Seymour has argued that the ban on pseudoephedrine—I'd better make sure I say that right sorry—has failed as gangs continue to produce P. Doctors have disputed the Minister's claims that there are no effective alternatives. In fact we've even had the Waikato GP Dr Jo Scott-Jones say it doesn't really make sense that we want to increase the risk to society by making that change when an effective medication is already available. I really want to talk about what this change will do and impact on our communities—Hon David Seymour: I'm sure the public will make up their mind on that.DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER: And sorry for me speaking while you're interrupting David!So Te Pāti Māori oppose this bill. Meth causes significant harm in communities in Aotearoa so we have to be really clear on making an example of why we oppose it. It not only affects the individuals but it also causes social harm including harm on all our whānau all our mokopuna all our communities. The argument and the rationale that this will make other people's lives easier we totally get to be fair but that's assuming that all communities that are currently affected by meth are OK and they're not. In fact probably our biggest worry and concern again is that this bill's offering no alternative solution to approach the meth issue that we have in Aotearoa predominantly in Māori communities. It assumes that actually there is no deficit position going on with meth in Aotearoa. And what's worrying is that we ignore once again Māori communities that are hugely impacted by this drug.It's hypocritical that this bill is being prioritised today as the Government's been taking a real hard approach on addressing crime and the purpose of this legislation was actually introduced in the first place to tackle the crime and the production of P. It just makes no sense for ACT to be prioritising this when it inevitably leads to more crime.Although our kaumātua and tamariki are often hit hardest by the cold and flu season and having more access to cold medications could make life easier our issue again is that Māori communities are also those who bear the full brunt of the meth epidemic. So again we question why the bill is being put under urgency. Again it seems to be for this Government that it's not just about winter; it's actually about taking on things that are attacking the vulnerable communities for us as Māori. Again we had this whole rhetoric of justifying it that it's going to help people get well but actually they're ignoring the fact that my community and a lot of our communities are simply not well. So if there was a sincere intent from this Government and indeed this Minister to make people well we would start by saying First and foremost here's our commitment to addressing the meth issues that we have in Aotearoa."We're also concerned that the introduction of this legislation will retrigger the crime rates at pharmacies as we saw in the late 2000s. Officials and pharmacies have warned and warned that allowing the sale will lead to a spike in meth-related crimes. We've got retired pharmacists who say that prior to the ban pharmacies were regularly targeted by ram raid - style robberies. So again if many pharmacists are saying this and cautioning—and this is their sector; it's not the politicians' sector—but there are not many politicians in this House who will sit there and get out on the ground and talk to those communities as we saw with Paora who are warning about the spike and what this will mean.Again what we've seen with this bill—and I guess some of the things that we're concerned about is that it's proposing to do good. We have the Minister here proposing that his interests are for all of Aotearoa when in fact it's for the privileged who don't get to live day in day out with the scab of this epidemic and how it is truly affecting our communities. So we caution again that we have a Government that turns a blind eye and a deaf ear to its communities that are most affected by these types of legislation. We will not be supporting this bill."