Jackson WillieHon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister of Employment): Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. It's not often I will ever agree with that previous speaker—in fact I can't ever recall agreeing with him in the history of Parliament—but he did have some very relevant views with regard to the perspective of the Greens with regard to this argument.We must be very careful when we start inferring that Pacific Island countries don't know what they're doing—we must be very very careful. These are not stupid people and good old white New Zealand doesn't always have the answers you know. Just because a people have signed up to something—it doesn't matter whether it's National or Labour—we know what's needed in the Pacific. So I find sometimes this view—that the poor islanders don't what they're doing—is patronising and arrogant. And that can come from all sides of the political spectrum and today sadly it came from the Greens.But anyway we're really glad to support the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations. You know Mr Brownlee it's a lot better than when you were involved at the start. Things are moving along and—Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think it would be an appropriate point for the order of the House to make it known that the agreement was signed during the term of the National Government.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): There's nothing to rule on I don't think.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Kia ora. I just want to thank him for that clarification. But I think things have improved particularly since the Pacific talk which was led by the Rt Hon Winston Peters and Shane Jones—and Gerry Brownlee I believe joined the team over there supporting the Government in our relationships with the Pacific and apparently everyone enjoyed his company over there. So I want to thank him for all that support but I say to the Greens today you must listen to the speech of the Hon Aupito William Sio over here. This is the Minister for Pacific Peoples who we have within our group within our Government. He is clear that this agreement is good for his brothers and sisters in the Pacific Islands. So I would think that the Minister for Pacific Peoples would know a little bit about this agreement and why it's so important.Strong local economies that work for their people and will assist them to not just grow and strengthen the economic benefits of their nation but the social aspects too." So this agreement "aims to create jobs and wealth in the Pacific region by making it easier for countries in the region to trade and attract investment" while it's also seeking "to create greater certainty and transparency for businesses operating in a region where most of the countries are not members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and not subject to its rules."I just want to relate to some of the things that are happening with what I'm doing at the moment as Minister of Employment because I've had the opportunity to get around the regions and speak to the communities. These are the communities that were starved by the previous National Government. They weren't resourced; they weren't funded. But the one thing I suppose that's clear was that without the ability to create jobs their young people are forced to look elsewhere for opportunities. So I got to see first-hand the commitment of these regions to work alongside their people businesses and with Government facilitation to find local solutions that not only grow the ability for people to work within those regions but also strengthen community ties.So you know the same sorts of principles apply in this PACER-Plus agreement. I'm excited about this because we need similar outcomes for our Pacific Island neighbours. The importance I think of growing a resilient economy which was emphasised by Mr Brownlee by Mr Peters by Aupito William Sio is just so important. By growing strong employment pathways our Pacific Island cousins are able to also grow their people and provide them with opportunities to build careers without necessarily having to leave their homes. That's really important given that 400000 Pacific people reside here.I want to commend our select committee. I think we get on pretty well apart from Mr Brownlee dominating as much as he can. And Todd McClay—it's hard to get a word in. But it's also a committee that is committed to supporting the sovereignty and the tino rangatiratanga of people in the Pacific. This is significant in order for us to help grow the economies of our Pacific Island cousins which has certainly been made clear by some of the Government speakers and most of the Opposition today. I thank you Mr Assistant Speaker for this time to support this kaupapa. Kia ora.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Five minute call—Alastair Scott."