Carter David: State-Owned Enterprises (AgriQuality Limited and Asure New Zealand Limited) Bill — Third Reading 
Carter David: State-Owned Enterprises (AgriQuality Limited and Asure New Zealand Limited) Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:640;Page:10130] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 The State-Owned Enterprises (AgriQuality Limited and Asure New Zealand Limited) Bill is another kick in the guts for New Zealand farmers. I am surprised that for a bill that is so important to New Zealand agriculture a junior Minister Clayton Cosgrove has been sent to the House to do the third reading speech on behalf of the Government. I do not think I can recall a contribution at all on this legislation through the first reading the second reading or the Committee stage by our current Minister of Agriculture the Hon Jim Anderton. I do not think he has made a contribution at all on this important legislation which again will land heavy costs on our meat producers. 
If one had to describe the bill correctly one would say it was a bill designed by the unions for the unions—a bill designed by the unions for the unions. I said last night in the House during the Committee stage that I found it ironic to say the least that in the very week the legislation had been originally introduced into Parliament coincidentally the Labour Party suddenly found the $850000 that it had taken from taxpayers in the last election. I raised that point and Maryan Street accused me of being very improper even to suggest it. So I went back through the submission process and found a very close linkage between the Public Service Association (PSA) and this legislation. 
Let me start with a submission from the Meat Industry Association. I guess the first point I should note is the comments made by Bill Falconer the chair of the Meat Industry Association and a person who has a reputation in New Zealand and overseas as having championed the interests of New Zealand meat producers. Mr Falconer had this to say to the select committee: “I have to say that in 47 years I’ve been in and around Government I have never seen a major trade organisation be treated so shabbily.” The background to those very strong comments from Mr Falconer is the fact that this legislation or the concept of this legislation was first made known to the Meat Industry Association not by the Minister of Agriculture—not in fact by any Minister of the Crown—but by none other than the PSA when it requested a meeting with the Meat Industry Association. At that meeting which took place in July last year the PSA told the industry that a merger between Asure and AgriQuality would take place. 
The PSA then confirmed that stance in an email sent to all PSA members in Asure dated 22 June 2006 and signed by Keith Gutsell and Ian Baldick who I presume are senior executives of the PSA. In that email they stated: “In recent meetings between the PSA and Government Ministers the Prime Minister and the NZFSA the PSA has been informed that the Government will promulgate Government policy stating meat inspection is to be done only by the Government and delivered by one Government agency Asure.” The email goes on to state: “Make no mistake this is a major turn-round of direction and delivers far better professional and secure meat inspection services for the future.” 
The industry on hearing these comments and receiving a copy of that email then wrote to the Minister of Agriculture and requested a meeting. The Minister of Agriculture refused to meet with the Meat Industry Association because he was not prepared to face its members and discuss the implications of the legislation. So what we find is that coincidental with the sudden payment by the Labour Party of the $850000 in comes this legislation which in effect removes any potential— 
Maryan 
 Street 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I seek your guidance on this but I consider that implication to be improper. I look to you to tell me some Standing Order under which I might claim that because that comment should not be repeated in this House. It is improper it is unworthy and it is untrue. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: The member has made a clear implication and he will stand withdraw and apologise. It is not acceptable to do that. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Point of order— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: No I have ruled on it. A member has raised a point of order an implication was made and I ask the member to stand withdraw and apologise. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: I withdraw. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: And apologise. I asked you to withdraw and apologise. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Thank you. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: I was saying before I was interrupted by the point of order that there is a clear association and a clear track from the PSA announcing this legislation to the industry and subsequent to that the legislation coming before the House almost 12 months later. That I think has been a very very sad state of affairs; this very important industry has been treated as though it were almost irrelevant. There is no paper trail as to why the PSA demanded this legislation. Suffice it to say it had demanded it for a long period of time. 
In the debate yesterday in the House Maryan Street made the point that there had not been any competition because AgriQuality had not entered into meat inspection services and therefore there were no complaints before the select committee about the current cost charged by Asure which of course is on-charged to the farming industry. I say to Ms Street that there has not been any difficulty around the fees because there has been the potential for that competition. But this legislation completely removes the potential for competition and mark my words cost increases will follow. That is the very reason that the PSA has campaigned very very successfully for reasons unknown to me and has achieved its desired result with the passing of this legislation today. 
I want to pick up on the process at the select committee. Initially Gordon Copeland was supportive of the National Party’s position of opposing outright this legislation. But United Future—of which he was a member at the time—took a degree of comfort from the promise of a Supplementary Order Paper being delivered to the House that would satisfy some of the concerns around the potential for offering alternative meat inspection services into the future. Supplementary Order Paper 120 was finally presented by the Minister for State Owned Enterprises Mr Mallard and in it we saw nothing but a sop. There is no way at all that that Supplementary Order Paper will deliver contestable meat inspection services within the next 50 years unless the legislation is changed. 
What the Supplementary Order Paper does contain is an instruction that the Commerce Commission must within 3 years investigate the cost of meat inspection services to ascertain whether they are fair and reasonable. What I find incredible is that the Government having kicked the farming community in the guts delivers yet another huge kick and says that the farmers must pay for the cost of work done by the Commerce Commission. If ever a Labour Government wanted to fall foul of the farming industry then this one is doing a superb job of that today. 
A Supplementary Order Paper put forward in my name gave the Animal Health Board the ability to cancel contracts it had already assigned if a merger occurred. The board has successfully been able to get very competitive pricing under the arrangement whereby two State-owned enterprises provide that service—namely AgriQuality and Asure. What happens now is that the contracts the Animal Health Board has entered into are not allowed to be completed because the Minister specifically removes that requirement today in the legislation. That again will mean the immediate passing of about $2 million of costs on to the farmers. 
Finally there was a very small glimmer of hope of an amendment put forward by Eric Roy to involve Meat and Wool New Zealand in that consultation process being successful. Again I understood that there had been agreement. I accept that there is some confusion about whether there had been; I accept Darren Hughes’ word on that. That amendment offered a little chance to achieve some fairness in this dreadful legislation but again Trevor Mallard used his numbers to make sure that we got no satisfaction with that amendment at all. 
It is a sad day to see the Government forcing through the State-Owned Enterprises (AgriQuality Limited and Asure New Zealand Limited) Bill. I am surprised that New Zealand First has not taken a more genuine interest in this legislation and acknowledged the effect that it will have on our farming community but mark my words as we campaign towards the 2008 election I will take every opportunity to point this matter out to our farming friends.