McClay ToddHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): The forestry industry in New Zealand is extremely important to us. In my area and indeed around Taupō where I grew up forestry was such an important part of the local economy and remains so throughout New Zealand. It provides a huge number of jobs and investment for various people around the country but also provides wood to our sawmills to add value so we can use it in New Zealand to build some of the houses the Government fails to build but at the same time to export products with value added to them. I just want to say before I come directly to the bill to the forestry sector that actually although there is an inquiry the Government has put in place which I think is important into what's happened along the Gisborne area the coast and down towards Napier they remain important to us and we want to look constructively at how we can give assurance to those that live in those areas and elsewhere where there's forestry and at the same time make sure that the forestry sector knows they have a future in New Zealand and they remain important to us and they remain valued. This legislation has much less to do with New Zealand and more to do with setting international standards. For a long time it has been illegal to illegally harvest wood products in New Zealand native forests and so on and our officials pay a lot of attention to this. So I don't think we do have a problem in New Zealand in respect of this but that can't be said for every other part of the world—countries that don't have the same regulatory regime or approach to sustainability of natural forests or native forests as we do. What it does do for our forest owners or wood exporters is it gives them certainty that they won't face barriers or delays when their products are exported to other parts of the world because for them to leave these shores they must be certified as sustainable and sustainable practices as under this piece of legislation. We don't import a lot of wood into New Zealand that one might argue could fall within what is not allowed through this legislation although there will be occasions or times when people want to add things to their decks or houses where we could ask the question How do we know that the harvesting of this wood is sustainable and it hasn't harmed a natural environment?" Well a certificate would need to be produced for it to come to the country so it gives us certainty and that is an important thing. It's not that long ago in this House where we came together and passed legislation—well actually a previous Government—when there was a great wood fall in the West Coast of the South Island following a storm event. Rather than it sit there and rot the House passed a law to allow it to be harvested and to be used rather than to be wasted. In that case it's important that this legislation recognises that there will be an occasion in time when a protected natural resource might well be used—not cut down to be used but used rather than being wasted and whether or not under such circumstances that product can be exported or it must remain in New Zealand and in the case that it must remain in New Zealand that the practices of felling trees in New Zealand is not called into question as a result of that. You know it's not sustainable for us to say if wood has fallen as a result of a natural event that we can't use it because it's no longer planted. We should be able to use it where we can. We support this legislation. It's an important step forward and tells our foresters we value the work that they do. Although the inquiry will look at how we can better work together."