King Colin: Meat Board Amendment Bill — In Committee 
King Colin: Meat Board Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:633;Page:4722] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 I start by making the point to the New Zealand First member who spoke earlier about it being no use our having a free-trade agreement with America that for every cattle beast Australia sells to America it receives $21 more than we receive because of a free-trade agreement. I would also remind the member not to bite the hand that feeds New Zealand. 
I draw the attention of the Committee to section 24 “Requirements for allocation mechanisms” of the Meat Board Act. The amendment the bill proposes to that section as intended and approved unanimously by the Primary Production Committee was the most controversial of the amendments being made by the bill. The new subsection (5) to be added to section 24 of the Meat Board Act by clause 3 of the bill states: “(5) To avoid doubt an allocation mechanism may provide for an allocation of access to quota markets to any person who is a registered exporter whether or not the person currently exports meat products.” That amendment as the commentary on the bill states is being made for the point of clarification. 
Until recently it was a moot point over where the quota should be allocated. Potentially it could have been contested in the High Court as to whether the quota should be based on the meat exporter or on the basis of a mechanism whereby meat that was processed in a certified and an approved processing plant was eligible to be exported. The point was not necessarily the fact that the meat was exported. When we consider that point there has to be some very subtle thinking around who earns quota. 
When members sat down yesterday to that beautiful lamb fillet during our farewell to Dame Silvia Cartwright we could appreciate the importance of ensuring that in a country where we rely so heavily on tourism we are able to present the highest quality of product. When we look at our food safety level which is considered to be the platinum level throughout the world it is nice to be able to entertain our overseas guests with such a delicacy as a lamb fillet. 
If we turn to the amendment to section 32 “Decisions” made by clause 4 of the bill we see again that the word “eligible” will be included in that section. This will ensure that subsection (1) of that section will summarise things by stating that committed future investment in the distribution marketing packaging or processing of meat products eligible for export has to be considered when deciding matters of allocation. So on that basis we can see how the bill clarifies that particular clause and takes the steam out of the debate over whether litigation will be taken out against the Meat Board. 
The process the bill has gone through in the select committee has been very very important to ensure that we can add certainty to the process so that we do not confront those issues. We can also have comfort around the responsibilities and the accountabilities of the Meat Board back towards the industry because section 26 “Consultation” states: “The Board must not establish any particular allocation mechanism without consulting those meat industry organisations the Board thinks appropriate …” for that purpose. So it has to consult and it has to do that on a regular basis because section 29 of the Act “Review of allocation mechanisms” talks about this having to be done on a regular basis. Subsection (2) states: “(2) The board must review each unrevoked allocation mechanism at intervals not greater than 5 years. The first review of each allocation mechanism after the commencement of this Act must occur within 5 years of that commencement.” 
 So everything has been lined up appropriately. I reflect back on the tumultuous times surrounding the restructuring of the producer boards and the outcome. We saw the demise of the Wool Board and its separation of industry-good activities as opposed to commercial activities. 
Clauses 1 to 5 agreed to. 
Bill to be reported without amendment presently. 
House resumed. 
The Chairperson reported the Coroners Bill with amendment and the Meat Board Amendment Bill without amendment. 
Report adopted.