Carter David: Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Carter David: Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
[Volume:641;Page:11328] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 The National Party will support the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 2) to the Primary Production Committee. We do that acknowledging that the quota access for New Zealand dairy products to the European Union to the United States to Japan and to Canada has been hard-earned by New Zealand over many many years. Prior to the previous National Government initiating producer board reform there was a lot of discussion around the allocation of quota. 
It is worth recalling just how it was managed prior to the reform of the producer boards. Of course at that stage the allocation of quota was relatively easy. It was in the hands of the New Zealand Dairy Board which had the compulsory right to market all dairy products from this country. But as the reforms were initiated and intense discussion was occurring in 1997 1998 and 1999 and various alternatives to compulsory marketing by the New Zealand Dairy Board were developed there was a very vexed question around the allocation of these quotas. At that stage there was recognition by all involved—industry players Government officials and politicians—that we as a nation needed to do everything we could to protect the interests of New Zealand producers and to maximise the economic benefits to our country. 
As an Associate Minister at that stage to the Minister of Agriculture John Luxton I remember these discussions well. The ultimate solution that was hammered out at that time was a temporary solution and it was that exclusive access was to be given to the then still to be formed entity Fonterra. There was no free lunch. There was of course a monetary recognition or compensation paid at that stage to the other players within the industry Westland Milk Products and Tatua Cooperative Dairy Co. Ltd. 
It was as I said a temporary arrangement that was meant to be resolved by the Government well before today. I note that two of the quota markets—the Dominican Republic with 4800 tonnes of milk-powder and Canada with 2000 tonnes of butter—have expired and have been extended by regulation. It is fair to say that the Labour Government has never been strong in its connection to agriculture and to rural New Zealand. No one should be surprised that the deadline has passed with not a solution being presented prior to tonight. 
The responsibility for this failure clearly lies with the Labour Government. It is not as though the Order Paper has been full of urgent legislation over the last 12 months. This matter could have been sorted out quite a long time ago. Although I say the responsibility lies clearly with the Labour Government it also lies with the current Minister of Agriculture Jim Anderton. But as most of rural New Zealand knows he is certainly struggling as he grapples with this new portfolio. He was a very surprise appointment by Helen Clark after the election of 2005. He has found it very difficult and I think he would be the first to acknowledge that he has not really had a background of association with rural New Zealand and he certainly has struggled to show any empathy in connection with farmers. 
But to be fair to the industry it gave the Minister Mr Anderton on his surprise appointment every opportunity. He did start with a little bit of promise. He said that he would get out there amongst the country and do some listening. He proceeded to get out amongst the country but it was not long before he gave up the listening and started with the very long speeches that Mr Anderton is now famous for. I am afraid that the industry has well and truly switched off. The dairy farmers do not rely on Mr Anderton to solve the problems they grapple with this one included. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: They certainly don’t want this member. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: I suggest that that member has a look at the current polling. I suggest that rural New Zealand is well attuned to the ability of this member in rural New Zealand as compared with the current Minister Mr Anderton. Anyway I acknowledge he has had his honeymoon. It was a very very short honeymoon and now he has some challenges. 
But we do finally have some action tonight on the vexed issue of quota allocation. As I have said it is too late but having put the Bill into the House tonight I am surprised and disappointed that there is the guillotine clause there which requires the Primary Production Committee to report back by the end of October. The Minister has mucked around for years and years on this issue. He has had the opportunity to get the bill before the House and he gives us a total of 10 weeks as a select committee to advertise for submissions which will take about 3 weeks I guess and then to hear what I suspect will be a substantial number of submissions. I am sure that he said in his speech that the committee is to report back to the House by 31 October and then later in his speech I heard him say that he actually wants the legislation fully enacted by that time. As usual I give the Minister my assurance as chair of the Primary Production Committee that the committee will cope with this challenge diligently. It will fully cooperate and I certainly hope that we can do it without having to go for an extension. 
I suspect we will get some submissions from the likes of Fonterra Open Country Cheese Tatua Westland Cooperative Dairy Synlait and many of the other new players that have appeared within the industry since the original passing of the Act in 2001. As I have said earlier National will support this amendment bill to the select committee because we acknowledge that the issue has to be sorted out to give not only the dairy farmers of New Zealand every opportunity for maximum economic gain but more important all New Zealanders the chance to maximise economic gain. 
It is a pleasure to be part of this debate tonight particularly when the dairy industry—as compared with beef and sheep in New Zealand—is enjoying such buoyancy. I recall my visit to the National Fieldays earlier in June walking amongst many many farmers—particularly dairy farmers—over those couple of days and the angst and anger among the dairy farmers who had just a few days earlier been blamed for inflation in this country by the Governor of the Reserve Bank Mr Bollard. 
Colin King 
: How outrageous! 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Colin King says it is an outrageous comment and it was. The Governor of the Reserve Bank had put up interest rates another 25 basis points on that occasion—he has since done it again which makes it effectively 50 points—and at the time of his announcement in June he was saying that the reason he had to do this was that the dairy farmers were receiving too much money. Now the first thing is that he should have actually been celebrating the success of the dairy farming industry which has made so much progress firstly for their own benefit—and I champion that and good luck to them—but more so for the benefit of all New Zealanders. But the other thing that was amazing is that he made that comment early in June in the first week of the new dairy season. There would not have been a farmer in New Zealand who had received any benefit of the announcement of a payout of $5.35. So I think that in that statement Mr Bollard is as out of touch with the dairy industry and its ability to spend as recklessly as he seems to accuse it of as indeed that Labour Government and the current Minister of Agriculture are out of touch. 
Anyway we will support the legislation going to the select committee. We will do our best to get it back on the time line that the Minister has given us tonight. We look forward to the submissions we receive. We encourage anybody who has an interest in this industry and who will be affected by the allocation bill to come forward to the committee because we look forward to their comments on the legislation.