Stewart BarbaraBARBARA STEWART (NZ First): Firstly I would like to clarify for the Minister in the chair Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and the Committee and the public of New Zealand that New Zealand First is not in the hands or the pocket of the tobacco industry. We definitely are not and I am very disappointed that the Minister did not apologise for an entirely erroneous statement that he knows is untrue. Tobacco is a legal product in New Zealand and the Government enjoys the excise tax so I am amazed that he was so condemning of New Zealand First.But I would like to talk about the two Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs) that are in my name for the Committee to consider at this stage of the debate. I did ensure that the Minister was aware of these SOPs before they were published and I reached out to him but he did not come back and talk these through which I found very disappointing. I sent an email through and it was not responded to.Both SOPs basically look at extending the lead-in time for compliance for manufacturers and for the retailers of tobacco products. We believe in New Zealand First that the legislation has not learnt from our own example when we passed legislation requiring graphic health warnings but also when we look at the Australian example when it moved from branded to plain packaging. We need to be realistic as a Parliament and recognise the logistical and the operational challenges for manufacturers and retailers when introducing standardised packaging.It is a change from what is there and although the Minister says everyone has known about it for years the exact dates are definitely not there in place even now. When I look at my SOP 198 that looks to provide manufacturers with a realistic time frame for transitioning from branded to standardised stock. We know that tobacco packaging is printed in huge quantities and I know the Minister knows this as well. It is unrealistic for manufacturers to have a very minute stock of packaging when they know that this legislation is going through the House but there is still no set date for it. We need to give manufacturers a definitive time to comply. We need to look at the problem from their point of view as well.SOP 199 looks to provide tobacco retailers with a realistic time frame to manage stock and changeover issues that we have seen arise in the past. The bottom line is that 12 weeks is not sufficient to basically get rid of all of your old stock and sell it on because it is impractical to work out what is required. No doubt the Minister would be very happy when some of these ram raids are carried out because then all of the cigarettes all of the tobacco is taken by these people. So we are very disappointed that the Minister did not reach out and at least consider it.We have looked at the Australian examples quite realistically and for a long time so we want to learn from that particular issue. I am hoping that the other parties will at least consider businesses and the business time frame in how a business operates even though I know that many of these people have not been small-business owners themselves and do not understand the mechanics of business. So for SOPs 198 and 199 we would like the support of the Committee. We know that the legislation is going to be passed and we know that this is the new regime that is coming but we would like manufacturers and businesses to at least have a realistic time frame to get through their stock. Thank you.