Roy Eric: Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Roy Eric: Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:644;Page:13751] 
ERIC ROY (National—Invercargill) 
: 
 As has been suggested there is a great deal of unanimity about this Dairy Industry Restructuring Bill (No 2). However it is appropriate that we need perhaps to highlight one or two natural issues because as the Minister said we are in a process of evolution and we may want to come back and look at some of the things recorded in this debate. 
I draw members’ attention to clause 4 “Interpretation” in Part 1. I note the somewhat vitriolic attack on my good self by Doug Woolerton in the earlier stages of this debate about the need to be xenophobic. If he is prepared to look at who is an eligible participant within the interpretation provision of this legislation he must be shaking in his shoes. There are two qualifications to be a participant: an entity must hold an export licence and it must collect at least 0.1 percent of the milk production of New Zealand. For a member who is claiming that we need to be xenophobic and need to protect the monopolistic structure he is allowing and sanctifying in this legislation a provision that someone who holds one-thousandth of the production of New Zealand and an export licence is out there competing in the export field. I am sure this must be of great concern to Mr Doug Woolerton who has this view that it is extraordinarily necessary to be a monopoly. 
I would just make the point that we are in a state of evolution. That is good because we cannot stand still—we go either forwards or backwards. I believe this legislation is going forward. But the time may well come when we say: “Hang on we used to have a monopoly and now it is an oligopoly.” As I said in the second reading as far as I am aware—someone may correct me—seven players are now contesting with Fonterra. At the moment this is not an issue because those players only have to have one-thousandth of the production in order to be in there. 
Hon David Carter 
: They could be Russians. 
ERIC ROY 
: Some of them could be anybody. Yes that is a very good point I say to Mr Carter. For example New Zealand Dairies which is situated at Studholme is a Russian investment in the New Zealand dairy industry. Mr Woolerton who is claiming the xenophobic approach to monopolistic management of the dairy industry must be gravely concerned about that. 
R Doug Woolerton 
: I said that’s what made this industry great. 
ERIC ROY 
: Yes well Mr Woolerton must be worried that the industry is turning on its head. 
R Doug Woolerton 
: Of course I’m worried. You’ve seen my statements all over the place. You’re not worried. 
ERIC ROY 
: But he is still voting for this provision. 
The second point I wish to raise is in relation to section 28A which is to be inserted into the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act by clause 12. Here we give a delegated responsibility in terms of transferring export licences. I commend to members the amendments that are in place. One of the things we tend to do with quite a degree of abandon at times is to put these delegated responsibilities into legislation that states that we can do whatever we want by Order in Council. To transfer a licence is quite a significant issue and although it is appropriate that it be done by Order in Council it is also appropriate that we have a very clear methodology and process so that there is adequate consultation and adequate checks and balances. That is why I commend to members that the amendments in this bill are passed because the Primary Production Committee has given due consideration to all of those elements. 
The third point I would raise again in this Committee debate relates to the elements to the database. Although the dairy industry is a leading light in many respects in the New Zealand pastoral industry in terms of genetic gains it is not the leader. The leader now in terms of production through genetic gains is the sheep industry. I believe that one of the key factors is the fact that the sheep industry has open access to its database. Yet the dairy industry has said that it is under the Livestock Improvement Corporation and yes there can be access but the access costs so much per cow. One of the members of the select committee may remind me what the figure is but I think it is about $2 a cow. As David Carter said earlier price is access. If I were a dairy farmer and I said that the genetic property of the Livestock Improvement Corporation is the only one we are really interested in—