Tisch Lindsay: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 5) — Second Reading 
Tisch Lindsay: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 5) — Second Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:580] 
LINDSAY TISCH (National—Piako) 
: 
 National will support the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 5). We have Supplementary Order Paper 383 which was tabled on 21 June 2005. However the Minister’s comment about the possibility of a later Supplementary Order Paper being tabled surprises me. I take it that that will come in the Committee stage—I see that the member is nodding his head there.  
One of the major issues we have with regard to Supplementary Order Papers which I have mentioned on numerous occasions is the last-minute attempt to bring in legislation without the full scrutiny of the House. The bill has had its first reading and been to a select committee and now the Government intends to introduce in the Committee stage a Supplementary Order Paper that no one has had a look at. I do not even know the name of it. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Fred. 
LINDSAY TISCH 
: Well I will be interested when we come to the Committee stage in whether the Minister will take a call to show us and articulate to us why it is so necessary to introduce legislation that has not been scrutinised in a first reading or by a select committee. Here we are now debating the bill’s second reading. This Government is getting into the habit of bringing in legislation at the eleventh hour and I am well known for saying on record that that needs to be tidied up and that to bring in legislation without proper scrutiny is unacceptable. There will have to be a very good reason for members to accept a Supplementary Order Paper during the late stage of the Committee of the whole House so I look forward to it being tabled.  
I want to draw the House’s attention to one part of the bill. As the Minister said the bill originally had 25 parts but some new parts have been inserted bringing the total number up to 29. The area that I want to look at particularly is Part 7 “Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001”. We have supported dairy restructuring and I have with me in the House tonight people who were very much involved in dairying. Colin King is probably more from the sheep side of agriculture but we have Nathan Guy who has been with his family very much involved in dairying. We have supported the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act which has opened up the opportunity for people to be involved from outside the traditional mainstream companies like Fonterra. Up in my areawe have the Open Country Cheese Co. which is a very progressive company that was chaired and set up by a former member of this House the Rt Hon Wyatt Creech.  
 Part 7 of this legislation tidies up an area that we and the industry have had major concerns about which is the reason that the industry supports the amendment. Should a farmer decide to exit the industry or move to another company then the company he or she was supplying actually has to pay that person out. It has to buy the shares back from that particular farmer. This bill safeguards companies from that draw-down on their capital. If say Fonterra had a run on its capital because so many farmers decided to move out and set up their own businesses or to go out of dairying and move into alternative forms of land use then that company would have a huge drain on its capital. This bill offers the opportunity to have redeemable shares and that is a positive move. At some stage however the company will have to buy those shares out. With that in mind this legislation is important. It safeguards industries from a draw-down on their capital. The industry supports that and National supports it as well.  
I will not go through the other points in the major parts of the bill. The Minister has articulated what they are. They range from amendments to legislation affecting animal welfare right through to that affecting Government superannuation gambling and the protection of flags emblems and names. Such amendments are commonplace in bills brought in to tidy up legislation and that is acceptable. But we do not accept and we will be looking very very closely at the Supplementary Order Paper that the Minister mentioned in his address. I give notice that we will look at it very very closely to see whether it adds value and is worthy of support from the Opposition side of the House. I remind members that if we do not support it then it will not happen. We want to make sure that it is worthy of our support.