Clark DavidDr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North): She packed my bags last night pre-flightZero hour 9 a.m.And I'm gonna be high as a kite by thenI miss the earth so much I miss my wifeIt's lonely out in spaceMr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Quite an admission.Dr DAVID CLARK: On such a timeless flightAnd I think it's gonna be a long long timeTill touchdown brings me 'round again to findI'm not the man they think I am at homeOh no no no I'm a rocket manRocket man burning out his fuse up here aloneMr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is the member reading his speech? Dr DAVID CLARK: Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kidsIn fact it's cold as hellAnd there's no one there to raise them if you didAnd all this science I don't understandIt's just my job 5 days a weekA rocket man a rocket manThis ladies and gentlemen is a modest poem penned recently by our very own parliamentarian and poet laureate Steven Joyce during one of his many recent visits to the Rocket Lab Māhia launch site. It is often said these days in Māhia in fact that Steven Joyce is seen there more often than John Key is seen outside Richie McCaw's dressing room—that is how central it is to his programme. I take my hat off to him. It is well known of course that Minister Joyce is eloquent capable and charming—members of the House would affirm those things—but his extraordinary humility has held him back from sharing his poetry with the House until now. It is the same humility of course that holds him back from saying just how pivotal he has been in Rocket Lab's success but if you read media reports it is all laid out there—Minister Joyce is absolutely critical to Rocket Lab's success. Do not die wondering; go and read those media reports. It is said in fact that if Steven Joyce visited other provincial centres as often as he visits Māhia these days Air New Zealand would not just be increasing its fleet by the rate that it is it would be doubling its new fleet purchases.While I am here I am going to just scotch a few other rumours before I move away from this levity about Steven Joyce's—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just try to stick to the bill. That would be good.Dr DAVID CLARK: —appearances. Well it is a bill about outer space Mr Deputy Speaker. I think it has to be noted. I think that Mr Joyce was not the man who founded that legislation. We have to go back to the beginning. We should actually look at the story. I commend Mr Joyce though—levity aside—for his efforts in making sure that we do have an appropriate space regulation programme. We will be supporting this bill.It was a little over 9 years ago that the reports began about what was happening with Rocket Lab. The firm announced that it was going to launch six rockets into space probably blasting off from the South Island it was thought at that stage and rising 150 kilometres above the Earth delivering payloads of everything from ashes to scientific equipment. At that time the ingenuity that went with that was celebrated. The former economic development Minister Trevor Mallard who attended the launch of Rocket Lab said: Rocket Lab would enhance New Zealand's emerging reputation as a developer of 'first-rate' technology and components." and I think that point was well made. It was made again by Mr Joyce today. He has stressed the importance of this industry for innovation in New Zealand.We have of course many innovative companies across the spectrum—from rockets through to health products and beyond in the agricultural sector and so on—but here we have something that truly captures the imagination. I take my hat off to Peter Beck and his team. I have visited the site and I know many members of this Parliament have visited its factory where the team are constructing these rockets. It is truly awe-inspiring. These rockets promise the ecosystem for technologies not yet seen in New Zealand or the world. This industry has so much promise for New Zealand. I think it is incumbent upon us as parliamentarians to look for ways to support the companies that will emerge in its shadow.So today I take off my hat. I acknowledge the pivotal role of the Foundation for Research Science and Technology in the initial supporting of the Rocket Lab programme back in 2007. The vision of those bureaucrats who made that decision is paying dividends today. The vision of the founders who had the drive to make this happen to seek the funding to seek the private sponsors and to work with No. 8 fencing wire and off the smell of an oily rag to pull this project together—it has been through so many stages.I read a report written in 2009 by David Shearer who was the then labour innovation spokesperson who was complimenting the project managers on their initial launch of the micro-sized rocket that took place on Great Mercury Island. There have been many parliamentarians keen to see this progress over many years. I incidentally was recently in Gisborne talking to the local chamber of commerce president Gavin Murphy. Mr Murphy told me that he watched that same rocket release on the television—the Great Mercury Island scale rocket release—and a couple of days later he phoned up Mr Beck and said that there were opportunities on the East Coast. At that stage the South Island I think was the most likely launch site and Mr Murphy as the chamber of commerce president rang Mr Beck and said: "Why don't you come on down? We'll host you we'll show you around and here's a Google Map with some prospective launch sites on it." Local businesses saw the opportunity and they sought to attract Rocket Lab to the Māhia site—and of course the rest is history.The team came down and had a look around the sites. There were further negotiations. It certainly was not a straightforward story but Mr Murphy can claim his small contribution to that puzzle. And I think with this success there will be many many fathers claiming the success of this programme—Mr Joyce not least amongst them. He is like a moth to the lights. He is like a man in front of those cameras who cannot be missed in the current publicity but let us not forget there were so many people who have contributed to this programme.We are keen on this side of the House to support this bill. We are keen to see a proper aerospace set of regulations in place to govern the use of our aerospace and to make sure that this technology is appropriately employed and that any other subsequent companies that wish to work in this space are also held to the highest standards—our international reputation depends on it. As I understand it the Government has been working closely with the United States authorities to make sure that appropriate measures are in place for the space programme and that spirit of cooperation will continue. The legislation drafted well by officials will continue through this House and we will support it assuming it looks like it does now and the submissions through to the select committee are suitably supportive as well. I cannot imagine at this stage that they would not be.So I am grateful for the opportunity to support this bill. I note the history of support through private enterprise through Government and through the spirit of the East Coast wanting to get it there. I have noticed plenty of reports with Stuart Nash in them down there—supporting the site as well. Many parliamentarians will be there cheering this rocket launch on when it happens and will be wanting to support the industry and see a diversification of our exports—and see this as something that runs that flag up the pole and that we are keen to see continue. Thank you."