Eckhoff Gerrard: Meat Board Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Eckhoff Gerrard: Meat Board Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:618;Page:14084] 
GERRARD ECKHOFF (ACT) 
: 
 I too would like to respond to the comments made by Jim Sutton a man described by many as one who will never make the top 10 but who will have no trouble getting into the bottom three of anything. The Minister seems not to have read the commentary to his own bill when he criticises my attitude to the use of the reserves. I can do no better than to quote from the bill’s commentary: “We note”—that is the select committee—“that Federated Farmers of New Zealand opposes the prioritising of reserves as a back up to the quota system or the use of reserves to settle liabilities arising from any litigation relating to quota allocation.” That is exactly what I have said and I make no apology with the support of the farmer-owned organisation called Federated Farmers and the Minister stands in the Chamber and criticises me for having done so. Well I make no apology for that and the farmers of this community and Federated Farmers can make their own judgment call on the contribution of the Minister. 
The other aspect that he criticises me on is that I am flagging the size and the ability of a very very large meat company into the future called PPCS in combination with Richmond and their ability to influence perhaps the quota management of the meat industry. It will have two members sitting on the quota allocation committee. The full board of course makes the judgment call but there will be two members of the New Zealand Meat Industry Association sitting on that board. Their influence will be huge because they are so big. Now I do not and never have criticised the sense of two big companies PPCS and Richmond getting together in terms of the geographical distribution of meat the timing of the meat kill etc. It makes enormous common sense but I will say as I have done publicly in the past and I do again today that it is totally wrong for a company to abuse its size and indeed the goodwill of its shareholders. Indeed the company has been criticised by a High Court judge for gross commercial misconduct. That is something that we cannot take pride in in this country. It needs to be spoken about so that these companies know that the representatives—and I count myself amongst them—of the farming community have the backbone to stand in Parliament and criticise if they believe it is necessary. 
I say to Mr Sutton that if that means I end up in the political salt-mines I do not care. I am perfectly happy to go to a political salt-mine but I will not compromise my integrity and what I believe for the sake of political expediency although quite clearly the Minister seems to think that that is a necessary part of politics in this country. I say to the Minister that I do not think it is and that is why I have come to this place to try to change that in my own way if it is at all possible. It seems as though the Minister does not agree with me. 
So these are issues that I think are terribly important. I believe that the farming community thinks they are terribly important as well. But there is also one issue that—instead of criticising the Minister on this time—I am delighted to say the Government does understand the significance of—trade. I think the Minister does understand in a perverse sense if one likes given his dedication to the meat industry that New Zealand will progress only through trade—it is absolutely essential. The Greens of course and this has been alluded to here earlier do not agree that trade is vital to this country. Well the Minister for Trade Negotiations does do a lot of calling around the world along with members of the meat industry the Meat Board—the pastoral board the new Meat and Wool New Zealand. That is an essential part of government and I understand that. The question of whether in fact the Government owns the quota I think is a moot point but as I said earlier it is one that I am certainly not going to die in the ditch on as long as the country and the Minister understand that the real benefit comes from an industry like this one. 
The meat industry has the ability to go out there service its clients and service the world without the constraints the controls and the cost structures that are constantly being imposed on us by this Government. But there is no question that I think some members of the Government do understand the absolute necessity to get out there and sell our product and open access to New Zealand. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: Members further to the leave granted by the Committee for one wide-ranging debate is it the wish of the Committee that I put the question as one? 
John Carter 
: Yes. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: It is. 
Clauses 1 to 89 and schedules agreed to. 
Bill reported without amendment.