Lees-Galloway Iain: Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLees-Galloway Iain: Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 19 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13557. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North): It is a pleasure to take a 5-minute call on the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill. Labour supports this bill as it passed the Copyright (Parallel Importation of Films and Onus of Proof) Amendment Act in 2003 which this bill amends. The provisions in that Act are set to expire in October so this bill continues those provisions. However the billreduces the delay for parallel importing a film from 9 months to 5 months after a film’s international release. The bill will expire on 31 October 2016 with the effect that importing a film first made available to the public after that date would be allowed immediately on the film being made publicly available.The original Act was only ever considered a temporary measure to allow the industry time to adapt yet here we are today extending that time frame. Labour’s qualified support for the 5-month delay rests on the impact on provincial and rural cinemas such as the one in my own electorate in Palmerston North which have less capacity to show multiple high-grossing films simultaneously and less flexibility and ability to cut costs and to remain competitive. Labour also has reservations that this may end up costing Kiwi families more on an outing to the cinema and that if the public cannot legally obtain material in a timely manner through DVDs subscription TV or online streaming they will simply use illicit means to fulfil their needs. The Government has reneged on a commitment to undertake a wide review of the copyright regime this year and has instead put it on hold.Labour’s 2011 manifesto stated that we would continue to participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership talks but reiterated its commitment to retaining Pharmac in particular as a bottom line which must not be traded away. We feel similarly strongly about intellectual property provisions. There is great concern that undue influence is coming from overseas to strong arm New Zealand into accepting intellectual property restrictions particularly around parallel importing and that that will end up costing Kiwi families more whether it be a night out at the cinema whether it be the cost of medicines or whether it is being able to buy affordable clothing at The Warehouse for instance. All of these things are under threat if the ability to carry out parallel importing is under threat. That is certainly one of the concerns that members on this side of the House have with some of the international negotiations that are being carried out at the moment. In fact in many ways if the Government is to restrict parallel importing it is the very opposite of what we would traditionally think of as free trade.We have concerns about this piece of legislation. We have concerns that the Government has not been able to organise the transition phase and that here we are extending that transition phase even further. We have concerns that it is in fact hard-working ordinary families in New Zealand who are going to be affected by this with one of those most simple pleasures of a night out at the movies potentially costing more and more and more. Of course we have seen this in a thousand different ways—the cost of living going up and up and up and wages simply not being able to keep up with that cost of living. This is just one more way in which potentially it is going to be harder for Kiwi families. So our qualified support for this remains firmly based on an expectation that ultimately these measures will be phased out.We expect from the Government a robust defence of New Zealand’s sovereign right to be able to carry out parallel importing right across a range of commodities and products so that we can keep the cost of living under control as much as possible. Of course that should be balanced with clear efforts to improve wages for New Zealanders so that people have the money in their pockets to be able to buy the simple things in life like a night out at the movies. Unfortunately of course through a suite of legislative changes we have seen this Government working towards a low-wage economy and doing its best to drive wages down. What we saw today during question time was the apparent lack of empathy for people on low wages and a clear view from Ministers and members of that Government that the issue of low pay is nothing more than a joke and that is not good enough.Catherine Delahunty: Mr Assistant Speaker—