Woolerton R Doug: Meat Board Restructuring Bill — First Reading 
Woolerton R Doug: Meat Board Restructuring Bill — First Reading 
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R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First likewise will support this bill to the select committee. In doing so I say that people in New Zealand tend to forget that meat wool dairy and all the other forms of agriculture in spite of all the initiatives we have had over the years are still— 
Phil Heatley 
: Are not the sunset industries of this country. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: —are not the sunset industries of this country; they are the main things that bring money into the country for us to spend on our lifestyles. We depend on those things and they set the benchmark for how well we live in this country. What is less understood are the efficiency gains that farmers have made over the years. For example meat and wool exports are up 35 percent to $6.3 billion— 
Phil Heatley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Annette King and the Minister of Agriculture have had a liaison now for at least 7 minutes with Mr Sutton standing there speaking to Ms King with his back to the House. I ask that Mr Sutton pay some sort of respect to those on this side of the House—and to himself. Perhaps next time when they liaise he could sit and speak to the Minister. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the honourable member for drawing that to my attention. I was somewhat diverted by other issues within the Chamber. I am sure the honourable Minister is well aware of Standing Order 82. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: I was saying that people may well be aware of the importance of the meat industry but I do not think they are aware of the efficiency gains made by some of the industries in the agricultural sector. Meat and wool exports are up 35 percent to $6.3 billion with 8 percent less stock. Lambing is up from 100 percent to 123 percent and more than that in parts of the country so there is a huge gain there. Beef exports are up 17 percent overall. These are the sorts of efficiency gains coming off a high base that are hugely important to this country and I have— 
Phil Heatley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There are now— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Thank you I know exactly what is being said. I will rule. Can I just say to members that under— 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The whip has just come to speak to two members of the House which happens all the time with whips from any party and I think the member is being incredibly precious. He is showing off. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I understand the situation with the whip helping out on that occasion. I think the member was referring to other members. Can I just say to members that under Standing Order 82 it is not permitted to stand while in the Chamber. Members must take a seat. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: He’s deliberately trying to break up your speech. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: I have forgotten where I was up to but I think I was talking about the efficiency of the meat industry. 
It is hugely important for us to guard our quotas overseas. I have spoken about efficiencies and now I want to speak about quotas and how valuable they are to this country. We have seen a much-lauded “free-trade agreement” that was to be negotiated by the United States and the Australian Government. We note with some concern but no surprise unfortunately that meat is not part of that although it will be in 18 years or something I think. Sugar is the same which is not a matter of interest to New Zealand but it certainly is in Australia. In other words countries are very keen to do deals when it comes to manufactured goods but certainly not when it comes to agriculture. 
Across the world unfortunately and especially in the countries that we trade with there is a situation of huge tariffs and huge protection for the home industry. Therefore quotas have been negotiated with blood sweat and tears and I applaud the Minister for Trade Negotiations and the Government as I applaud the international trade Minister in the previous Government of a different persuasion because they do a very very difficult but hugely important task for New Zealand. 
These quotas must be guarded to the nth degree because they are gold. They are our only guarantee into countries with high tariffs and they must be nurtured. Therefore like Mr Heatley I have no problem with the Minister on behalf of the Government appointing a couple of directors to the New Zealand Meat Board. I have no problem with the extent of the legislation that ensures the Meat Board will nurture those quotas for without them we have no guarantees. We sell a huge amount of meat over the quotas in various countries but it is quotas for which we get the most valuable amount of money. Unfortunately I do not have the figure with me but I am sure that subsequent speakers will tell members the exact difference in price between quota meat and other meat but it is huge and it is valuable. 
I commend those who are searching out—and the Meat Board is one of them—trade with China Taiwan and lots of other emerging economies that will be hugely important to New Zealand in the future and in the near future as well. I make a plea to remind members that it is Europe the United States and countries of that ilk that have the taste for the products we sell in New Zealand. We understand those markets and we have traded with those markets for years—sometimes hundreds of years. 
They are countries with high levels of disposable income a high standard of living and they are carnivores—they eat meat. We sell meat and the more we can sell to them the better. Mr Donnelly is giving me a look. I do not know what he is thinking of at the present time but no doubt he is thinking of some steaks on the barbecue or something like that. But that is an important point because when one talks about new countries it takes a wee while to get those markets going. It is the countries that we have traditionally sold to and where we hold quotas that we need to protect and nurture because that is where the main amount of good dollars comes from. Those quotas need to be looked after because they have been hard won. 
I want to talk for a couple of minutes about the danger of a high dollar to the farmers of this country and in this case to meat exporters. For every rise in the dollar there is a subsequent erosion of the spending power of our agricultural people. New Zealand First as opposed to some other people does differentiate between the export dollar that comes into our country and we would like to see economic activity generated by our exports. We believe that consumer-driven economic activity is a different thing altogether. It leads to inflation and to false pricing within our country. It is simply not based on productive enterprise so it is false. The bubble is doomed to burst at some stage if economic activity is looked for from that area. With productive exports from farms and agriculture we are not so reliant on imports and so there is a larger percentage of that dollar returned to this country. It is the one that sets our standard of living and the one that we must seek. 
It is important that we at least see the Government trying to talk our dollar down. We cannot continue to have the dollar at US70c and prosper. New Zealand is coming down off the back of the Kiwi at US45c which created a huge amount of economic activity in this country but going into the year ahead with the dollar at US70c all New Zealanders—I repeat all New Zealanders—will notice the lack of income that that creates. We support this bill to the select committee.