Guy Nathan: Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Guy Nathan: Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:669;Page:16217] 
Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
 on behalf of the 
 Associate Minister of Health 
: I move  
That the Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Health Committee for consideration and report back by 8 April 2011.  
Firstly I acknowledge the work of the Maori Affairs Committee in its inquiry into the tobacco industry in Aotearoa and the consequences of tobacco use for Maori. This bill addresses a number of the recommendations in its report but the bill is not the Government’s formal response to the Maori Affairs Committee report. The Government will respond to the report in its entirety in early February next year. What the inquiry did which has been invaluable was to put the issue of tobacco addiction on all of our radars. We have heard the personal testimonies of families that have had harm caused by tobacco and that premature deaths have deprived our whanau of their elders. As I listened to the debate earlier this year when the tobacco taxation legislation was debated and then listened very recently to the debate on the tobacco industry inquiry I found it to be a bitter-sweet moment in our political history. It was heartening to hear about the level of shared commitment across the House; it was also distressing to hear how many of us have been personally affected by tobacco.  
We are all starting to understand just how massive an impact tobacco has on New Zealand society overall. The direct health costs to the Government of tobacco-related harm in New Zealand have been put at as high a figure as $1.9 billion per year. The costs to New Zealand society are significantly greater than that. There is no putting off the fact that action must occur and it must occur now.  
The objectives of the bill are simple: to make tobacco less visible and attractive and to make tobacco less accessible. I am confident that over time these measures will be effective in reducing smoking-related harm.  
I acknowledge the transformation in tobacco control that has evolved over the last two decades since the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 was passed. This history is one that all MPs should be proud of—for the advances brought in that established a smoke-free New Zealand—instead of indulging in cheap political point-scoring. I am extremely mindful of the enthusiasm passion and dedicated efforts of a very impressive group of advocates who have— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I apologise to the member. I have been listening very carefully to his speech. I am getting the impression that he may be giving a speech on behalf of another Minister but he did not preface it in that way. I wonder whether he wants to correct that now to indicate that he is delivering a speech for another Minister because of course any Minister could have moved the motion. I think he moved it on behalf of another Minister and is delivering a speech for Ms Turia rather than one that is heartfelt on his part.  
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The bill is in the name of Ms Turia. 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: As I was just mentioning to the House I am extremely mindful of the enthusiasm passion and dedicated efforts of a very impressive group of advocates who have invested much of their time into paving the way for a cleaner healthier smoke-free world.  
There will inevitably be some compliance costs associated with this bill. Tobacco retailers will have to modify their shopfittings in order to comply with its provisions. The bill has been drafted so that all retailers must remove retail displays within 6 months after the bill comes into force except for those classes of retailers who are allowed exemptions for up to 2 years through regulations. The bill does not allow any longer exemptions than that such as for specialist tobacconists or duty-free stores. The bill also provides for new regulation-making powers for incidental matters covering product notices price lists health warnings and other signs. It prohibits the display of trading names where these include words or phrases that effectively advertise tobacco products. An example could be “Darren’s Discount Cigarettes”. The bill provides an infringement notice scheme to enforce the prohibition on the sale of tobacco products to people under 18 years old. The infringement notice penalty is capped at a maximum of $400—that is 20 percent of the $2000 maximum penalty for the offence. Alternatively prosecution through the courts will still be possible for more serious or repeat offences.  
I am confident that this bill will help to reduce the harms caused by tobacco. It has to. There is too much at stake. If we were at war and losing 5000 people a year we would consider that to be a matter of national urgency. This is exactly the approach that we must take now. The Government would like to see the bill enacted by 31 May next year. I hope that other parties will join us in this approach. I commend this bill to the House.