O'Connor GregIAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'd have said a prayer if I could remember it before I started this speech. And having listened to the last speaker Arena Williams I'd like to remind her that if she looks like me and she's got one of these [Holds up a SuperGold card] she ain't too well off under this Government. Ha ha! In fact I don't recall having had any rise with one of these. And Mr Speaker I'm not going to bring you into this because I realise you're not far from it. Ha ha!I came today to speak about an issue that I think is of extreme concern to New Zealand. And I want to speak briefly before I get on to the topic about the emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the challenges that we're facing with respect to climate change with respect to the environment and with respect to agriculture in New Zealand. And I want to again urge the Government—and I've done this before and I'm not going to make any excuses for previous Governments of New Zealand but I think it's most important that we get some consensus around these issues because right now aside from all the other challenges that we face as a country the challenge that I think will have the most effect on our future relates to the way we deal with the emissions trading scheme the way we deal with the environmental challenges that our agriculture sector and other sectors in New Zealand face. And if we don't get some consensus around this I think we're going to get into some serious trouble long term not only with the economy but with our population as well.So I think we're seeing some trends in New Zealand right now as a result of—and I'm fully supportive of the ETS and the way we go about these things; I'm just not supportive of some of the outcomes we're achieving at the moment. We need to pay attention to this very quickly. And it's going to need a consensus across this Parliament to achieve this. I'd urge the Government to talk to all parties in this Parliament about changes that might be required to achieve some of the outcomes we need to achieve with respect to where we're going in the future. We don't want to make decisions now that long term have a serious impact on our ability to both produce food and make a living as a country and also perhaps negatively impact on what we're trying to achieve with respect to climate change initiatives and our environmental challenges that we face.But having said that what I want to address today is an issue that I think is seriously impacting applicants wishing to register native and exotic plantations in the ETS. And I'll quote some facts on this. On Tuesday 18 October the Ministry for Primary Industries sent out an email which said Applications to register native and exotic forests in the ETS after 25 October 2022 are highly unlikely to be processed in 2022. Applications received after this date would be registered in 2023." Now that sounds fine except that there were 1271 applications outstanding at that time and those 1271 applications as a result of that decision don't qualify to enter the ETS until the next five-year span.So what effectively happens is that we registered in a five-year mandatory emissions return period and because they missed that date they get pushed into the next emissions return period costing those 1271 applicants a significant amount of carbon units costing the country actually the potential for any of those carbon units that might have been traded to have been part of the solution to the emissions trading scheme. It is a serious issue for New Zealand it's a very serious issue for those foresters concerned with this and I think it's unacceptable that Government departments who know these walls of work are coming at them—they've had five or six years to prepare for this—are unable to handle it when the rush comes. And it's certainly unacceptable from New Zealand's perspective and it's unacceptable for those applicants who are awaiting approval or to enter the emissions trading scheme.So to return to the issue that I started with—and we've pushed legislation through this House at a great rate and I'm not being any more critical of this Government than I am of previous Governments because we've looked at this whole emissions trading scheme and we've looked at the environmental challenges we face as an industry and we've never collectively got a solid way forward. Right now I think there are two bills related to the emissions trading scheme in the Parliament right as we speak. There are numerous items out there for consultation. None of it has been clearly dealt with and the way forward isn't always clearly known. So I urge the Government to get this sorted out. I urge them to take all parties into discussion as to where we go in the future. I think it's one of the most important issues facing the future of New Zealand. There are plenty of current issues but this is an issue that might not have a real impact for 20-odd years. And if we don't get this right it's going to seriously impact on our ability as a country to go where we want to go in the future. Thank you Mr Speaker.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Emily Henderson. Can I indicate that the last speaker if it is not taken by another party will be by Simon Watts."