Woolerton R Doug: Animal Products Amendment Bill (No 2) Animal Products (Ancillary and Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
Woolerton R Doug: Animal Products Amendment Bill (No 2) Animal Products (Ancillary and Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
[Volume:624;Page:19214] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 That speech was from the well-known dairy farmer from west Auckland David Cunliffe. But he has other attributes so we will not go on very much about that. These bills about animal products are technical legislation and as previous speakers have mentioned the legislation is intended to enhance our entry into foreign markets. It is certainly true that the dairy industry is a $5 billion export industry. It is certainly true that there are 14000 dairy farmers in this country who produce I might add 25 percent of this country’s exports—exports upon which we rely in order to sustain a reasonably high standard of living. 
When the Hon David Carter was talking about that he made much about the dairy industry deregulation promulgated by the Hon John Luxton and pushed through a special committee of this House while the National Party was in Government. But I would not make a big issue about having pushed through deregulation and very shortly thereafter going off to take advantage of that deregulation by building one’s own cheese factory with another ministerial colleague called Wyatt Creech. There is nothing illegal about that and there is nothing particularly wrong about that but it is just not something I would rave on about if I were the Hon David Carter. The milk is supplied to Open Country Cheese by Fonterra which is forced by legislation to supply milk to the company—at an agreed price I must add. 
That is certainly a wee way yet from the pure free market that the Hon David Carter would have us believe exists in the dairy industry. So I tell members I do not think it is right that the National members rave on about that because it is neither a completely free market nor is it something to be proud of to have shoved through legislation in this House and then to have gone out into the business world to take advantage of it. I do not think anyone should skite about that. 
It is also the case that five branches of Federated Farmers have passed a vote of no confidence in the Minister of Agriculture. I have previously warned Federated Farmers against tying themselves up too closely with political parties. In this case—I do not know whether people are aware of this but if they are not I will make them—the ACT party through its very energetic member Gerry Eckhoff has been making sure that those votes of no confidence in the Minister are passed by going around the country and by going on about the so-called right-to-roam legislation. That legislation as I understand it is not going to happen but we all know that legislation is planned to give access to rivers and streams. We will talk about that in the fullness of time. New Zealand First will be happy to talk about it and I am personally happy to give my views on it at the appropriate time. 
It is interesting that people are saying that that issue will be an election issue. It will not be—absolutely not—and it will not even register on the Richter scale at the election. I think quite frankly that the two parties that are going on and on about it are having Federated Farmers on. When the lady from Federated Farmers comes to see me I will ask her whether Federated Farmers are now getting into the political business and joining up with parties or whether they are going to do what my father and his friends and colleagues of those days did—and what they worked their buts off for—which was to represent farmers fairly in this House amongst all the political parties without fear or favour and no matter who is governing the country at any point in time. If Federated Farmers are not going to do that they will pass into the annals of irrelevancy. I will give them that warning right now because that is what I intend to tell their representative. 
It is a sad day when Federated Farmers go down that track and it is a sad day when they are led astray by one party in particular in this House which has misjudged the situation and thought that legislation would be in Parliament by now. It is not in the House and it will not be here before the election. A person does not have to be a rocket scientist to work that out but that party’s members have gone around huffing and puffing to no end use and they have to use my colloquialism tucked up Federated Farmers. I am proud to say that when my father was at the top of that organisation he would not have allowed that to happen and he will be turning in his grave that such an organisation has gone down that path. New Zealand First will not support all that sort of right-to-roam legislation but neither will it go down the path of tucking up an industrial grouping with such an honourable history as Federated Farmers and in fact the farmers themselves. 
We support this animal products legislation. We look forward to its assisting dairy farmers across the country and most of all look forward to its assisting our access into markets—unfriendly markets I might add—on the other side of the world.