Ardern Shane: Wool Industry Restructuring Bill — First Reading 
Ardern Shane: Wool Industry Restructuring Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4260] 
SHANE ARDERN (NZ National—Taranaki - King Country) 
: 
 It is always a pleasure to speak after a Government member has spoken on this legislation given the depth of the speeches we have had tonight from Government members. We are in the forty-seventh Parliament and once again we are dealing with legislation that had its genesis in the forty-fifth Parliament. It is high time that this legislation passed through Parliament and that is why the National Party overwhelmingly supports its passage. 
The situation in the New Zealand wool industry is that farmers in a very long process have voted overwhelmingly for this legislation to proceed. After the McKinsey report there was overwhelming support for it; in 2001 about 90 percent voted in favour of it; then in 2002 96.9 percent voted for this process to proceed. I congratulate the leadership of the industry on steering what can only be described as a difficult process through that period. I say to farmers out there that they should get involved. It is their industry and it does have a great future. It is still one of the primary industries of this country and it is still the backbone of this country. It still funds all of the social policies of all Governments but in particular those of the current Labour Government which is propped up by United Future. 
There is no doubt that the Wool Board had outlived its time and that there was a need for major reform. The concept of processing wool into nothing more than some kind of garment carpet or other commodity-type product has well and truly served its time. I think that a new door will open in terms of what we can do with wool. I say to the Government that it should make sure that it resources the Primary Production Committee well. I know that the committee chaired by the Hon David Carter will do whatever it can to put the necessary changes or amendments in place. 
Obviously my very good colleague Phil Heatley who knows a lot about the wool industry will speak afterwards and demonstrate the depth of his knowledge. He will no doubt enlighten us. There will be a very thorough process to ensure that the legislation is given the scrutiny it needs. 
It is interesting to note that the only farmer on the Government side of the House who has bothered to turn up here is Damien O’Connor—probably because he is the only farming member the Government has. There is a further irony in this: when the National Party was in power Labour campaigned against the deregulation of all the primary industries. It continually said that it would be the downfall of all industries. But here we are tonight under the leadership of the Labour Party—the same party that said it would be the downfall of our industries—introducing legislation that brings about the deregulation of one of our major primary industries. 
The Minister is obviously in charge of far too much because tonight he had to defer to the Minister of Finance—somebody who as he stated in his maiden speech has a great affinity with farmers himself. I invite people to read the Minister’s maiden speech to see what he thought of farmers in general and sheep farmers in the Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury in particular when he entered Parliament. I invite anybody who may be listening to read that so that they can find out that the Minister who introduced the bill tonight clearly has their best interests at heart and clearly is keen to see this legislation passed. 
The bill provides for the structural reform of the wool industry by dissolving the New Zealand Wool Board. It will disperse its assets and liabilities and resolve a number of transitional and consequential issues. That is really the guts of what the bill is about. It is also about having a structure in place where initiatives such as that of Keratec can flourish. Once this legislation is in place there is the ability for outfits that can get involved in research and development through the levy process to develop—with a mandate from their growers—product ranges that have not yet been thought of. A number of such ranges are included in the Keratec brochure I have here which some members may be interested in. Who would have ever expected that cosmetics and toiletries could be produced from wool? As with the dairy industry members will find that a range of products can be produced that are well outside of traditional commodity areas. 
There is no doubt that the various structures that will be put in place such as Covita will bring about major biotechnology changes in this industry and will add years of sustainability to the industry and give it strength to go forward. I encourage that. Companies such as Wool Equities Ltd and Merino Grower Investments Ltd will be unshackled from the current regulation and allowed to go forward and flourish. I am sure they will do that. I suggest to farmers that they should get behind and support those companies giving them the breathing space they will clearly need. 
The initiative of Mike Peterson and Geoff Grant in trying to bring together the various woolgrowers’ and meat producers’ structures right across New Zealand is a great one. That initiative should be supported at every opportunity by farmers the wool industry as a whole and hopefully the Government—even if regulatory change is needed to get it in place. Clearly those who farm meat and those who produce wool are often the same people. It is a nonsensical process to have the two competing against each other—often in the same structure—for resources for research and development money and the like. I absolutely encourage that. 
It is also interesting to note that in the McKinsey report it was suggested that mid-micron wool had a bleak future. It is through the investment in research and development that fine wools mid-micron wools and coarse wools will develop new product ranges and a solid future for themselves and will find a very strong way of going forward. Science and genetic research hold the answers to a lot of the problems that exist in the industry. Ovita has been another spin-off and once again that move holds huge opportunities for an industry that was described 5 years ago as one that had no future. In some farming structures wool was looked upon as a by-product. 
I need to acknowledge my colleague from the Green Party Ian Ewen-Street because he raised a few points of detail that might get a fair hearing in the Primary Production Committee of which he is a member. Under the “skinny sheep” policies of the 1960s and 1970s—which made struggle-mustering an art form—he certainly honed his mustering skills. We have seen some of them in the way he has been able to muster together a very desperate bunch of people in the Green Party and turn them up here to vote. It is a pity that that is the case but that is as it is. I acknowledge him tonight; I know he will make a worthwhile contribution on that select committee. 
This legislation is well overdue. I know that the Minister Jim Sutton is very much in favour of its passage despite having reservations about deregulation some time ago. The Minister has done a complete somersault: he was in favour of deregulation in the late 1980s; opposed to it in the mid-1990s when it was suggested by the National Party; and now seems to be back in favour of it again in the year 2003 as this legislation comes into the House and travels through its final passage. 
Finally I say to those farmers who have not returned their entitlement packages in respect of their share of the distribution of assets please sit down and take the time to read the information. They need to get involved and return the package. If they bury their heads in the sand they stand to miss out.