Muller ToddTODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty): Thank you Madam Speaker and may I first acknowledge your high elevation. It has been a while since I have spoken in this House and certainly not since you have been given this role. So I acknowledge that. I must think what it must be like now—penny for your thoughts—listening to all the various contributions and forcing yourself to keep a straight face. Your discipline does you credit on a Thursday afternoon Madam Speaker.Now I just want to make a couple of comments on the rather remarkable contributions that we've heard so far. Firstly is it not the case that every single time that David Parker stands up to speak the red mist of anti - dairy farming just descends from the heavens. It doesn't matter what the issue it doesn't matter what the bill is it doesn't matter which piece of legislation it is he has to wind in this fundamental view that New Zealand with its economic engine driven by primary industry is somehow flawed it needs to be constrained and actually his utopia is everyone walking around and just sort of singing Kumbaya" and not having anything to do with rural New Zealand at its best. My goodness it's going to be fun in the next couple of weeks when he announces his water-quality standards. If—as my colleague Mr Simpson said—what we've heard in this debate is going to be the entrée for that it is going to be a fascinating debate indeed.At the core of the debate this afternoon is this view from the Government side that somehow our critique of this legislation and suggesting that it can constrain the average New Zealanders' right to whitebait is fundamentally flawed. And they have come up with the most extraordinary statements and accused us of overreacting. Well ladies and gentlemen at home I know you won't be able to see it but here is the bill—here it is reported back from the Environment Committee. And if we turn to clause 7 inserting new sections 26ZHA to 26ZHD under Indigenous freshwater fish—which I believe we're talking about; not birds although that was quite an entertaining departure from the core subject that we're focused on—there was—Simon O'Connor: It was a flight of fantasy.TODD MULLER: It was flight of fantasy well done. Indigenous freshwater fish: there is an explicit section in here 26ZHB and I quote "Prohibitions and restrictions on taking … indigenous freshwater fish." It lists the powers that are given to the Minister to decide whether he or she may or may not give the right to a New Zealander to whitebait.So I tell you: this view from the Government side that we are scaremongering is absolute nonsense. This is an attack as they attack everything that actually real New Zealanders like to do—like farm like fish—Hon Scott Simpson: Hunt.TODD MULLER: —hunt oh and by the way have an oil and gas industry that underpins it; anything that moves they want to tax it or ban it and they're going down the same track. It's the Green Party that are part of this Government they've written this and they want the power for a Minister to say no; not "Maybe" but "No". And it's explicit in terms of the power that the Minister has and the regulations that they can apply and the conditions in which they can say no. And so it is absolutely right for the National Party that has always argued strongly for people to be able to manage themselves within of course the constraints of the overall environmental system to be supported and to have clarity around what they're doing. This Government is saying "No. More power to the Minister to decline your right to whitebait." That's the reality it's written here; it's in the bill. These guys are the ones that are twisting the scrum. Thank you Madam Speaker."