Tirikatene RinoRINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): I am pleased to speak at this third reading of the New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority Amendment Bill. I know that this third reading is welcomed very much by not only the export authority but also the constituent groups made up of all the product groups. It has been a long time in the making. There is a statutory review of the authority that happens every 5 years and I believe that the last two 5-yearly reviews have said The bill needs updating—the bill needs updating." and so here we are finally being able to complete this process much to the appreciation of the horticultural groups that comprise the authority.This is a wonderful model and I do want to acknowledge the great agriculture Minister from the fourth Labour Government Colin Moyle who promoted this authority and you know did some wonderful things in his time including the introduction of the quota management system for fish. He also spearheaded this piece of legislation and what we have seen over the past 30 years is that this has proven to be a really successful model. It does not compel companies to be part of it; it is completely voluntary. It is not a single desk and it is not completely free-market. It is a voluntary model whereby product groups and the members within those product groups can come under the export authority's framework. As part of that framework they are to have an export marketing strategy and the exporters must be licensed and must abide by that export marketing strategy. It is a unique hybrid model but it has proven to be successful and I understand that over that 30-year period the export value of the various product groups has grown tenfold—now around $300 million in exports. That is a testament to the work that the export authority has done. It is a very lean organisation—very lean—and it is supported only by the product groups. It receives no Government funding. But obviously it has proven its worth over the past 30 years and all we are doing here as the Minister for Primary Industries has noted is making things a bit more flexible and a bit clearer and we are futureproofing the workings of the export authority so that it can continue its good work. When I mention the product groups just for the benefit of those folks at home we are talking about avocados blackcurrants buttercup squash chestnuts kiwifruit—but only to Australia—persimmons summer fruit tamarillos and truffles. We are talking about those particular products. The producers have formed their own product groups they have export strategies in place and those growers and processers must be licensed in accordance with the Act to be able to conduct their business. The reason they do that is that by being able to collaborate they can be more competitive in those international markets. It is making sure that they can have the scale—that there is the scale to be able to compete and to have consistent good quality standards which will uplift the reputation of our products in those particular markets. It is a win-win. It is all about cooperating to compete and Kiwis and New Zealand companies do that very well as evidenced by the export authority.I do commend the work of the Primary Production Committee under our chair Mr McKelvie and my senior colleague the Hon Damien O'Connor. We are very thorough in our work and I am pleased with the amendments that we have made to this bill. It is not to the liking of everyone in the horticulture industry who is affiliated with this body—I guess particularly in respect of the entry and exit requirements. They wanted a slightly lower bar but in the end we thought it was important. For an entire product group to come under this framework it would need broad support not only from growers and exporters but also from the small ones and the big ones. I think we have found the right balance in that requirement and also in a whole host of other provisions which will all assist in the workings of the export authority to grow the exports. That is what we want—to grow the exports from the various product groups. I certainly hope that the next 30 years of this export authority are even more successful than the first 30 years. I would hope that we can see the introduction of new product groups new product sectors to the body. There certainly are little fledgling producers out there and I guess for them to get the scale to be able to sell their products into international markets this is a proven model that will be well suited to them. So I certainly hope that they can expand and with that expansion they can grow their export earnings which all benefits us here in "New Zealand Inc."I do not think I intend to go on much further just suffice to say that I do support this bill. I do support the model and the good work that the export authority has been doing these past 30 years. I am sure that it will continue to assist our New Zealand companies to sell their delicious high-quality premium products to discerning markets worldwide and generate foreign exchange earnings to improve our standard of living here in Aotearoa New Zealand. I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora tātou."