Mitchell MarkHon MARK MITCHELL (National—Rodney): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker and it is a pleasure to take a call on this the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) Amendment Bill. I'm going to refer to it as the Trans-Pacific agreement" also. Can I acknowledge the Minister. I sat on the select committee with the Hon David Parker when we had the original Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in front of the committee and we received hundreds of submissions—Hon David Parker: It was David Clark.Hon MARK MITCHELL: Oh was it David Clark was it? I stand corrected.Hon David Parker: It was Korea you and me.Hon MARK MITCHELL: Oh it was Korea? I stand corrected. Well that was another very good free-trade agreement that we now see delivering great results for our country and it just highlights the importance as a small but proud trading nation down the bottom of the world—that these quality free-trade agreements are actually critically important for us. They add a lot of value in terms of our companies and our businesses and our products that we want to trade around the world. In fact if you look at it—I may stand corrected but the last time I checked—for the countries that we do have free-trade agreements with generally speaking our trade increases by about 10 percent annually. For countries that we don't have free-trade agreements with actually that trend is reversed; it drops by about 10 percent annually. So it actually highlights and shows the importance of these very good free-trade agreements.I have to say that if we go through the history of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) it did fall over and I remember very clearly going and attending a debate in Wellington with the Hon Grant Robertson in front of a business crowd and he made it very clear to me when we were talking about the TPP. At that stage I said "Look I always see the world through a glass half full and I believe that if we work hard enough and if we're able to get our partners back engaged in it then I believe"—and this is when America pulled out of the TPP—"it could be revived." I thought that we could get it back on track again. The Hon Grant Robertson took a very very different view. He said "Forget about it and move on. You'll never breathe life back into it. It's failed. It's been an abject failure. You guys have failed on it. Move on."So I was very pleased when actually our trade Minister the Hon Todd McClay who spoke earlier supported obviously by the Prime Minister went out there—and actually I wanted to acknowledge the Japanese Prime Minister and the Japanese Government because really what they did is they stepped up and they took a real lead on this in terms of being a critical player in revitalising the TPP and getting it back on track again.Hon David Parker: They still are.Hon MARK MITCHELL: Yes and they still are. The Minister was just saying they still are. So I just want to acknowledge them. And while I'm making acknowledgments the Hon Todd McClay did ask me—and I agree with him entirely—to acknowledge David Walker from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) because he was I think the original MFAT negotiator working on the country's behalf with his team and I just want to say that this team was world class and they definitely did an outstanding negotiation for us and so I want to acknowledge him and the team that worked on this. And I want to acknowledge the team that have carried that great work on serving the current Minister and making sure we get this agreement across the line. It is critically important for the country. I have to acknowledge the Hon Shane Jones and the fact that he made reference to Professor Jane Kelsey because Professor Jane Kelsey engaged with the committee in a very respectful way. I actually arranged some additional meetings—some private meetings—with her with the committee so that she could advance the issues and we could look at the issues that she'd raised. She was clearly against the TPP. She has her own very firm ideas and positions around what trade agreements should look like for this country and it was very clear that she was against the TPP in that form. I remember when we had select committee submissions and she came along. She would get a very warm welcome from the Opposition members—the Labour members and the Green members. They'd welcome her they'd make sure that the chair was pulled out and she'd get a cup of tea and maybe if she was lucky a cucumber sandwich as well. Then it was very interesting when the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was brought to this House and Jane Kelsey was able to have a look at the text and to have a look at the agreement. What did she do? She came out in strong opposition to the CPTPP. She thought it was still a very poor agreement and so what did the Labour Party do? They shunned her. They wanted nothing to do with her—no more cups of tea no more cucumber sandwiches and no more having the chair pulled out. So I just find it quite ironic actually that the Hon Shane Jones raised Professor Jane Kelsey and said that she was opposed to the TPP. She remains opposed to the CPTPP. Hon Willie Jackson: Yeah but not as much. Hon MARK MITCHELL: No just as much Willie. Don't you worry about that. So finally—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order! Order! I just remind you to—Hon MARK MITCHELL: Sorry—the Hon Willie Jackson. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Thank you. Hon MARK MITCHELL: No her level of opposition remains exactly the same as it was with the TPP. Look finally I'd just like to say that we do support this free-trade agreement. They are very important to New Zealand. We need to maintain a robust programme in terms of continuing to develop free-trade agreements all around the world to make sure that we continue to offer our country the ability to sell our wonderful goods. Thank you very much."