Pugh MaureenMAUREEN PUGH (National): Thank you very much Madam Assistant Speaker. It is a great pleasure for me to stand here tonight too in support of this Crown Minerals Amendment Bill at its third reading. We here in the National Party as you've probably gathered are supporting this bill and I thought I'd take the time to note the timetable of the passage of this bill. It was introduced of course and then referred to the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee on 5 April last year. It was read for the first time on 3 May and here we are at the third reading—all within 10 months. So I congratulate the select committee on its efficiency in getting this bill through the House in such a speedy way because if there's one thing I get great satisfaction from it is making improvements to legislation that specifically supports mining exploration in New Zealand.Why wouldn't we want to support an industry that is so beneficial to this country employing around 4000 Kiwis directly in the minerals industry without the indirect jobs? And these are high-paying jobs. They earn on average over $100000—almost twice the national average wage. Many of these jobs as we know will be supporting families and communities and regions that often don't have the same job opportunities as they do in the cities. In areas such as the West Coast the Coromandel and Taranaki mining plays a major role in underpinning their economies and so ensuring that this legislative framework that they all work within is fit for purpose and that it adapts as is needed in the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill that we are discussing tonight is I think a really important factor. This is particularly relevant to the very special and mighty West Coast where one study calculated recently that 40 percent of the region's GDP is derived indirectly and directly from mining—mainly gold and coal. This means that that region can have relatively high household incomes for a very small footprint. There is no other land in this country that earns the same as mining.I'd just like to explain if I can the scale of the mining footprint. On the West Coast it is 14 square kilometres compared to the region's 23000 square kilometres. That's 0.061 percent—not 1 percent not 0.5 percent; it is six 100ths of a percent. So in terms of its scale the mining footprint for what it returns to this country is extremely efficient. An Infometrics report last year identified the significant contribution of mining to the New Zealand economy and I can say that the labour productivity of mining is $543000 per full-time equivalent—that's five times the New Zealand average. It's a very high-value sector for New Zealand workers and their families and the great part about it is that most of the revenue stays right here in this country. One major gold company here in this country told us that 88 percent of the company's expenditure remained domestically in terms of the businesses and the people that it engages.The other interesting stat that I'd like to quote is that in 2018 the largest goods export from New Zealand to Australia was from gold.Dan Bidois: Get out of here!MAUREEN PUGH: Correct. We've heard a lot about just transition" and I can tell you that when we on the West Coast hear "just transition" it translates to us as "abolition". And with no inhibition nor inquisition what will result there is a reposition. And with no acquisition of ammunition we'll condemn that apparition to decomposition.Hon Carmel Sepuloni: She's a rapper!MAUREEN PUGH: Ha ha! If I just had the beats I'd be good—you could do that Minister. That would be a nice accompaniment to see us working together in such a close way. I commend the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill to this House."