Woolerton R Doug: Budget Debate 
Woolerton R Doug: Budget Debate 
[Volume:618;Page:13592] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 It is very interesting to listen to—well it is not actually as interesting as all that to listen to—the Budget debate but if one is a politician it is interesting because we are a funny sort of people. It is unfortunate that most members in this House be they on the National side or the Labour side talk about the redistribution of the cake and that concerns me. Many of the speeches we have heard today have been about that redistribution people’s respective share of the cake and that sort of thing but I would like to congratulate those people who grow the cake. I would like to congratulate and speak about those people who earn overseas income that gives us our lifestyle and allows us to redistribute or otherwise—and those people are in agriculture forestry and fishing in the main. There are lots of people who add to our exports and I applaud them all but I am responsible for agriculture so it is those people whom I will speak on behalf of and to. 
I am pleased to see that the Minister of Agriculture has made moves in the Budget to the tune of something like $46 million to strengthen our borders with regard to biosecurity incursions and the risks that we and our industries—our forests and farms—face on a daily basis from pests brought in through the importation of goods. I applaud the Government for that increase and for extending inspections from some containers that come to this country to 100 percent of containers coming in. 
We can all question whether it will be done thoroughly or whether the Government has the right systems in place to do it effectively but the fact that it has moved to do that shows a commitment to our exporters and people in agriculture which is to be applauded. 
Likewise I cannot let this chance go by without applauding the swift response to the concerns resulting from the floods in the lower North Island and I know that the people there are grateful the Government understood their need and responded to it. There is still some concern I add that some of the infrastructure there including some of the stopbanks and so on under the control of local bodies is not being seen to so swiftly and the money is not coming through quite so quickly to the local bodies but that is another matter. 
There was a time in a previous administration when the areas of the producer boards were looked at and disbanded to a great degree. Out of that 25 percent of our exports in particular being our dairy exports came under the banner of an entity known as Fonterra. It is interesting that many people at that time were sceptical about how well Fonterra would do. I am pleased to report to the House and it should be public knowledge that Fonterra is in fact doing very very well under a cooperative model. It is not a complete cooperative but it is a cooperative model that was roundly rubbished by the administration of the time and by the bureaucrats who were advising the special committee set up to look into the boards. I was a supporter of the cooperative system and the cooperative model and I am pleased to see that it is by and large working. By the same token I am pleased to see that some competition has come into the system and so not all of it was bad. 
It is also heartening to see in our country the move by Maori into agriculture and also to look after those lands that are in their care by way of corporations which I think is a rather unique and particularly appropriate form of ownership for what used to be a problem regarding multiperson ownership of land. Unfortunately that ownership had led to a lot of land not being fully utilised. The use of the corporation has made that a very different kettle of fish and there is now a large involvement of Maori especially in fishing. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: As I recall I was praising the Government for some of the things it is doing in agriculture. While reflecting over the dinner period I thought I had been praising the Government far too much so I thought I would say a couple of things. I think we in the agricultural sector should remind the Government that not all of the money and not all of the new money—as in the extra that has been put into the Budget—should be spent in Auckland. In spite of what many people think—and I know that the Minister is shuddering at the thought that I should even mention that it should not be spent in Auckland—it is a good thing to spend this money where it earns overseas income. It will in the long run—and actually it will not be so long—benefit the people of Auckland so it should not be spent all in Auckland. One thing farmers do not need is any nonsense like New Zealand joining up with the Kyoto Protocol which we would do if it were not for Russia God bless its soul—and I never thought I would say that. We should not be flirting with the Kyoto Protocol in this country when our emissions into the environment are 0.001 percent. I do not know how we even measure that amount of greenhouse gas. [ 
Interruption 
] It is 0.02 percent of the world total is it? 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: The OECD total. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Okay but it is very low and it is not a cost and impost that we should be inflicting on our farmers foresters or fisheries. The people who farm in this country and produce much of our export wealth are a resourceful lot. They are entrepreneurial and are good business people and the last thing they need is costs and stupidity imposed upon them. I implore the Government to desist from any of those sorts of plans and we will enjoy a long and prosperous future.