Watts Simon; McKelvie IanSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. It's a pleasure to rise on the Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Bill in its third reading. National will be supporting this bill but I want to echo some comments made before by the Hon Todd McClay because I absolutely agree that this bill in substance is only—if we're at all lucky—going to have a minor and miniscule impact in terms of the key issues that this country faces.The bill obviously is a result of a market study undertaken around competition and is looking to implement one single recommendation that was identified and that will be an amendment to the Commerce Act 1986. I think that what's interesting is the politics that are at play here in behind by this Government. They need to blame something or someone for the state in which our economy and our country is in with a soaring cost of living crisis and soaring inflation. Basically as we've seen there's a good amount of blame in terms of who is responsible except for the Government at the moment whether it's Ukraine or in this case the grocery sector—in particular the duopoly of supermarkets are to blame for the fact that food prices have increased 7.6 percent in the last year and fruit and vegetables have increased 18 percent. Well that's absolutely ridiculous—that is absolutely ridiculous. They are basically trying to identify one group or one organisation to put blame on to deflect the fact that it's through their actions and their decisions that we are where we are today in part and that is the reality of what's going on there. I think Kiwis are pretty sensible and can see through that.That's the reason why the Minister has decided to spread this over a period of time—probably I would guess over the period over which inflation is going to be significantly high across this country—just so there's an insight. It's like the old saying that if you walk around with a clipboard or a notebook under your arm you look like you're busy. Well what the Minister's doing here is just spreading out this bill to make it look like this Government is actually doing something and the reality is they're doing absolutely damn not much at all. That is a great shame.But I think as I said Kiwis can see through that—they're not silly. They're going to say Look these guys are just looking for someone to blame and this is the tool with which they're going to do it."Shanan Halbert: National do nothing.SIMON WATTS: I think the point made before in regards—and I can hear the colleagues over there. They probably know it—they know it deep down: "Oh how did he work out our strategy?" Yeah but they know. The fact that the COVID-19 period—and it was raised by a member from ACT before in regards to the fact that through Government decision-making they made the rules and regulations that a number of our food providers fruit and vege shops—remember the butchers that couldn't open during lockdown? Remember all of our small businesses in our community? Who made that decision? Well the Government made that decision didn't they? Then—surprise surprise—we've come out of that lockdown period and then they've recognised and said "Well those supermarkets that we drove all of that demand into have made super-profits." Do you think we were born yesterday? No. Kiwis can see right through what you are doing and you are trying to use the grocery sector as the big bad business that is to blame for the cost of living crisis and inflation. I'm sorry but that doesn't wash and that doesn't stick.So what we're going to see is an incremental process of regulation and reform. All of that adds costs to businesses and other layers of bureaucracy. We've talked about the minimum wage we've talked about another public holiday—that all correlates through into increase of prices and that will continue on under this Government. These types of regulatory aspects will deal with the rats and mice in regards to some of the underlying contractual aspects. It will make absolutely—Shanan Halbert: You've got so grumpy since you moved from Northcote.SIMON WATTS: —very limited significant impact and I can hear the member from Northcote calling out from the other side. You know he's got Countdown in his electorate but he's also got a number of fruit and vege small businesses and butcheries and I don't think he spent much time during Auckland's lockdown going into those businesses on the North Shore and explaining to them why his Government—Shanan Halbert: Compare what you did and compare what I did buddy. You know it—you know the answer.SIMON WATTS: —has said they cannot open up and trade. He continues to go on—you can hear him in the background—but the reality is Kiwis can see it. They all know it. But at the end of the day while National will be supporting this bill I think I've articulated that this is not going to make any material impact in regards to the problems we face as this country. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): I call Helen White—five minutes."