SpeechHon ALFRED NGARO (National): Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa. It's Samoan Language Week and we honour the language its people its place its heritage and its history as well and the importance of that. Mr Speaker before I begin my speech if I can ask for your indulgence can I just acknowledge my colleague and friend Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki and say that during the lockdown period she lost her mother. So our sympathies and condolences to you in the difficult time. Te pati nei tātou ki te Atua no te aroa meitaki ki roto i to'ou tumatetenga ki roto i to anau ki roto i teia po nei. So I just wanted to acknowledge you and your family as well. This bill is called the Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill. I wasn't on that committee so I haven't been through the process in which we've heard submissions and we've gone through hearing officials hearing the regulatory impact statements going through this process but it's something that I can speak on from I suppose two different perspectives. I grew up in a time in which smoking in homes and houses everywhere was part of the norm. I can remember that we had a Holden HQ station wagon and I can remember that the doors had a sort of red leather on them. They had the handle and then they had this smoke—a little latch in which you put your cigarettes. It was for your cigarettes you know. It was just one of those things. Those of us who are old enough can remember that and it was just part of what we knew. That's how we grew up and that was just part of what life was all about. That's what people did. But we know that the truth is that second-hand inhalation—the impacts that that had on people's health brought us to a point that as a nation and as a country we are determined to do the right thing. I believe that this bill is about doing the right thing. It's been a long time coming and yes we can haggle over when and where it started. I want to put on the record that the Hon Tariana Turia actually made quite a brave statement when she talked about What if we could have a nation where we could be smoke-free?" and the evidence behind that is that we knew the impact that lung cancer was having on so many people in our communities. We knew the direct correlation. The evidence the science told us of the impact that smoking had on many of our whānau our family and our communities. So I want to honour her because this legislation was part of her legacy that she's left in this Parliament and in our nation as well. We're here today to talk about the amendments to that legislation and in particular around motor vehicles that impact our children our tamariki and our rangatahi as well that are in our communities. I believe that there's no intent and no one will be standing up to say that this is not the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do. I also want to acknowledge the Hon Jenny Salesa. As the Minister she has the privilege to take on this and to see it to completion and today in the third reading that's exactly what we're doing. I just want to make a couple of comments on that I suppose and one of the challenges is: how do we make sure that we implement that in the most expedient way that ensures the greatest outcome that we're trying to seek for our children? It was with some concern that I read through the notes I suppose just trying to get an understanding as to why there were two different elements that were happening that once this bill passes through the House and has the Royal assent we then have an 18-month lag between the implementation of Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 452 which was introduced by the Minister which talks in particular about the dwelling places that are certain vehicles and campervans. So it's just a bit confusing and I think the fact is that it would have been better for all of us if we'd just said look there's one rule for all here's what the vehicles are here's what they do. It does become confusing because once the vehicle is up and running it then has to abide by the law but once it's stationary then it's no longer in breach of any of the conditions which are in this Act. It just makes it a bit confusing. I think that it would have been the right thing to do. I know that my colleague the Hon Michael Woodhouse tried to petition that across through his SOP so I just want to say that for us it is a bit of a disappointment. We support the bill but it just seems like a bit of inconsistency here when we could have actually had the two going together. Why not say that on the Royal assent and implementation this comes into law immediately and why the 18 months? It seems quite an arbitrary period of time which we're not sure about as well. That's important. I just want to make a couple of other comments I suppose just in regards again to what the evidence is showing us around the children and some of the impact that it is having on our children as well. I mean the evidence is clear and the previous speech that was being made about the impact on our children—so while we make this a law we know that the most effective thing is actually changing behaviour. A law in itself in legislation doesn't always change behaviour immediately. It becomes I suppose a guiding line. It gives us a scope a direction about what we should consider but what actually is important is the programmes and again I look towards the Government in regards to what they're doing in regards to changing some of that behaviour. So for instance when I was with the Auckland District Health Board smoking cessation becomes important and ensuring that we're getting out there we're educating our community about the importance of how they need to change and look at other alternatives into that. We know that vaping is now becoming a way. Back in the day it was people putting on patches or using chewing gum. There were different ways to find a way through and now vaping has come in as another alternative. So that's in there.The last thing I just want to put on record is—so again we are supporting this bill. Again I suppose there's a situation where as part of a political coalition agreement with the Green Party there's now going to be a referendum that we'll enter into in this country which I believe will start to make people question why there's not one particular focus around a smoke-free New Zealand and yet we're now heading towards an election period with a referendum that will give people another choice of whether recreational marijuana will be another option for people to choose. So there just seems to be this confusing element that we send in these messages we send into our community. We as legislators need to be conscious and careful about the messages that we send because for us here words do matter. Actions actually make an impact and send quite a clear signal. So I want to say that we support this. Why? Because the original intent is a legacy that's really important. It's about having a smoke-free environment in our country. Cars and vehicles are important to that. We know the impact and the science and the evidence tells us but at the same time too why are we now sending another message into our country that actually "We're going to stop smoking but you could always toke up and have a joint maybe in a car."—we're not so sure what it will be. So I finish with that. Again though I want to finish on a positive note: that we do support this bill the intent of what it is to do to ensure the health and the wellbeing and the safety of all of our children in this nation as well. So we commend this bill to the House."