SpeechHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence) on behalf of the Minister of Forestry: I move That the Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill be reported to the House by 5 June 2020 and that the committee have authority to meet any time while the House is sitting (except during oral questions) during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 191 193 and 194(1)(b) and (c).COVID-19 has highlighted the need to increase the resilience of the forestry sector to support regional economies and jobs and help ensure the security of supply for domestic processors; something that we have noted in the Wairarapa region in particular over the last nine years and tried desperately to get the Government of the day to correct and they didn't. That's why we're doing this.The bill will provide some of the critical foundations to help supply chain stakeholders to navigate what is anticipated to be a more volatile and uncertain trading environment during the COVID-19 recovery period. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the New Zealand economy. The forestry sector has been one of the hardest hit. This bill will help the sector to restore itself and it is important that its provisions are put in place as early as possible.Budget 2020 is above all about jobs. By protecting the integrity of the chain of supply in the face of COVID-19 as the bill will it will safeguard existing jobs and will support the creation of new jobs. At this time it is essential that this happens as quickly as possible to support the rebuilding of the economy particularly in the regions. It is all the more important as we emerge from the immediate crisis that smaller investors who make up more than a third of the ownership of commercial forests have sound advice on which to base their commercial decisions if maximum value is to be extracted for them and the wider community. The improvements that the bill makes in terms of the quality of professional advice in this area will help address—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): I'm really sorry to interrupt the Minister but the debate is about the instruction to the select committee not the content of the bill. The Minister has made a couple of references to why the shortened period but is now leading into debating the content of the bill and I'm just going to ask that—Hon RON MARK: Thank you for your guidance Mr Speaker. I would say in commenting on—and we have noted the debate from the Opposition and the expressions of concern that the bill has got a shortened time period. I guess there's two things. One we're giving through the statement around how the committee can meet a method by which the committee can determine itself to meet on Fridays or other days and to ensure that it gets wide overage and ensure that the sector is consulted. Rest assured that there has already been good consultation with the Minister—Todd Muller: No there hasn't.Hon RON MARK: —pre-empting—and I think the member in the House needs to know that this is a crucial matter. For nine long years it was not addressed. COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem exponentially and so we wish to move the legislation knowing full well the quality of the select committee how capable they are how they will give full due diligent examination of the bill and they will work studiously the long hours that they're paid for to do this job thoroughly. I have total confidence in the committee to do that.