Banks John: Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Banks John: Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 02 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1922. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon JOHN BANKS (Associate Minister of Commerce) 
: 
 The Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill is a very important bill for this country. It is about our trade. It is about our economic sovereignty. It is about this nation’s future. It is critical as part of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is critical for the export sector of the New Zealand economy and it is very important that these matters are dealt with seriously by this Parliament on this night.  
I first want to thank the—[ 
Interruption 
] I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. If we continue to hear the unnecessary unwarranted carping and howling from the Opposition while I am trying to go through these questions how will we deal with the business of this Committee tonight? 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Can I just say to the Hon John Banks that this is a robust Parliament and I have heard nothing just recently that is out of order. 
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: I want to thank the member for Wairarapa—a first-class member of Parliament and a man who knows more about trade than anyone else in this Parliament. I want to thank the member for Wairarapa Mr Hayes for his first-class leadership of this bill through the select committee process. I also want to thank the member Dr Paul Hutchison for his support on the parliamentary Government side of the—[ 
Interruption 
]  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! I am having trouble hearing and I am right next door. 
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: I want to thank Paul Hutchison for his work on the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee and Tau Henare for his work on that select committee.  
I want to move to the questions. There has not been much focus apart from by the parliamentary National Party on what this bill is all about because the parliamentary Labour Party does not seem to be much interested. That is why the National Government had to deal with this bill in its last term in office and put in place some sensible provisions within this bill so that we could trade successfully on the global stage without intimidation from trading predators.  
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee Mr Hayes asked a very relevant question: what matters should be taken into account when considering the public interest regarding the tradable sector and the provisions of this bill? They are listed in clause 12(1)(e)(i): “the likely effectiveness of a safeguard measure in assisting the domestic industry:”—protecting the domestic industry base—“the alternatives to a safeguard measure:” and “the likely effect of a safeguard measure on the market (including on consumers):”. It is important that consumers are looked after as well. Public interest also entails “New Zealand’s international relations and trade goals:” pursuant to our responsibilities to the WTO and other ethical trading nations that we are working with.  
The member for Wairarapa the chairman of the select committee also asked the question of what the importance of this bill is to the domestic industry. As we progress through the stages of this bill we will deal quite specifically with that. The member for south Waikato or Raglan—I forget— 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: Try Hunua.  
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: Hunua—it is now called Hunua. I thank him also for his questions. He is a very fine member of Parliament. He comes from the trading town of Pukekohe. There is no other trading village in New Zealand that will benefit more from this bill and the provisions of this bill than the people of the wider group of trading sector growers and exporters based in the member’s seat of Pukekohe. He asked the question—[ 
Interruption 
]  
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I am having a great— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I have not called the member yet. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! A point of order is on the floor. It is to be heard in silence.  
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I am having a great deal of difficulty listening to the Hon John Banks—[ 
Interruption 
] 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I have told the members on my left that during a point of order there is to be absolute silence. The point of order must be terse and to the point. We will have order in this Chamber.  
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: I just want to finish it. As I was saying I was having a great deal of difficulty listening to the Hon John Banks. He was saying some nice things about me and I wanted to hear them.  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: That is hardly a point of order Dr Hutchison.  
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I thought you were going to remind the member that during a point of order he should not be provocative as he certainly was early in that point of order.  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: That is a good point that the member makes.  
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: I want to hear good points and I have got to say that people watching on the telly tonight this debate on the Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill will wonder what this Parliament has come to. This is the Parliament of New Zealand where we make laws in the best interests of industry and commerce which the member Paul Hutchison represents in Pukekohe. He asked a significant question. He asks why there is a bill at all—why is there a bill at all? The Labour Opposition must have thought that this bill was worthwhile because once upon a time—a long time ago and hopefully never into the future—it was in Government and introduced this bill. It was the member for Wairarapa Mr Hayes who had to tidy up the bill as the chairperson of the select committee when National came into office.  
The question Mr Paul Hutchison asked tonight was why there is a bill at all. I gave him the first answer which was that it is to ensure that New Zealand complies with WTO rules. That is absolutely critical on the world stage of competitive trading. The second answer to that question of why there is a bill at all is that it is to update and simplify the regime including the processes for undertaking safeguard investigations and applications of—[ 
Interruption 
]  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: I could conclude by the behaviour of members of the parliamentary Opposition that they have had a liquid dinner. I want to finish by saying this: I thought that this bill Mr Hayes had general cross-party support. I did not believe that there would be so much interest. I am pleased with the interest. I am pleased that the National Party has got a serious interest in the tradable sector of the New Zealand economy in order to preserve our economic sovereignty on the world stage. The National Party members of Parliament tonight including the first-class young backbench members of Parliament clearly understand that this Government’s responsibility is to ensure that international trading represents WTO rules and regulation so that competition by traders in Pukekohe can reach out to the market and do business in the best interests of foreign exchange earnings for New Zealand.  
I want to finally before I allow some other member to take a call turn to the officials who have done the backroom work—first-class public servants doing first-class work. [ 
Interruption 
]  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I know this place is a pretty robust place and we sometimes get carried away but the continual—continual—barracking is out of this world. I would really ask you to just have a look at the volume and the continual barracking from the Opposition when our Minister gets up and does what they have asked him to do which is answer some questions.  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Thank you Mr Henare. I have asked members several times. This is a robust Parliament and as long as it is contained and reasonable and within the Standing Orders then it is permitted. But if it gets out of hand then I will intervene.  
Michael Woodhouse 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. Mr Henare’s point of order was the sixth occasion in the last hour that members have asked within this robust debate to be able to hear the speaker. I would draw your attention to Speaker’s ruling 61/4(3) which says: “it is highly disorderly for a member to persist in interjecting when the member has been called to order.” I would suggest that that applies to the collective. To use a sporting parlance when is the referee going to go to his pocket and what colour will the card be?  
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: You have just ruled on that area of point of order. It is highly disorderly for any member to suggest that you are acting inappropriately or not acting appropriately. I ask that you make it clear to that member that you are the Chair not he.  
Michael Woodhouse 
: I was very careful to distinguish between the infringement and the pattern of repeated infringement which is what a good referee would look at. I suggest to you that that is a new point of order.  
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I would like to refer the member to Speaker’s ruling 79/1.  
Hon JOHN BANKS 
: I just want to answer a further significant question asked by the chairman of the select committee the first-class member for Wairarapa Mr Hayes. Mr Hayes asked this very significant question which the public of New Zealand who are listening tonight on their crystal sets or on their televisions want to hear answered. Mr Hayes in respect of this Trade (Safeguard Measures) Bill asked the significant question of what the significance of this bill is to the domestic industry. The significance is twofold. The bill provides a mechanism for providing temporary protection to a domestic industry from surges of imported goods. We will never have a successful tradable sector of the New Zealand economy if we do not have mechanisms in place so that we can move very very quickly on illegal importation of things that are going to destabilise the trading market of the New Zealand economy.  
Secondly on the question of what is the significance of this bill for the domestic sector asked by the member for Wairarapa Mr Hayes the chairman of the committee I say that in turn the bill gives the domestic industry time to adjust to import competition. We are out on our own on the global stage. We sink or swim on our own on the global stage. The international trading sector is highly competitive and there are countries out there that will take our economy off the map out of the South-west Pacific and off the world trade scene unless we put in place rules and regulations that mirror the WTO.  
I have to say finally on the carping and howling by the parliamentary Opposition that if that was the way it behaved at the time of the hearings of the select committee the people making submissions would not have been that impressed.