Jones Dail: Industry New Zealand and Trade New Zealand Integration Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Jones Dail: Industry New Zealand and Trade New Zealand Integration Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 10 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6086. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
: 
 I am speaking to the Industry New Zealand and Trade New Zealand Integration bill which was the title of the bill before it went to the Commerce Committee which has now recommended that the bill be called the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Bill. In a way a simple thing like that sums up the Government’s failure in this area. One would have thought that a Government that has had plenty of time to deal with trade in New Zealand would at least get the name of the enterprise correct before sending a bill to the select committee. 
In 2000 New Zealand First supported the preceding legislation in good faith as Peter Brown said on 27 July 2000. Minister Jim Anderton raised the issue when he was speaking earlier and I am pleased to tell him that we will still be supporting this legislation with little confidence in the ability of the Government to give full effect to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. It failed to give effect to the previous legislation and the clear evidence of that comes in the fact that it needed to introduce this legislation. None the less New Zealand First will still continue to have faith in the whole concept. 
We believe that New Zealand must trade its way in this world. In view of the immense immigration to New Zealand that is taking place along with the money that is being brought into New Zealand by immigrants we are of the view that New Zealand is only just hanging on. This country is failing badly under the poorly acting minority Labour Government in that it is not producing enough goods for sale overseas. We hope that this bill will remedy that situation. 
The bill does not say terribly much as to what this body is going to do. Clause 3 states: “The purpose of this Act is to support the development of internationally competitive New Zealand business by establishing New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.” In subclause (2) it refers to the fact that it is a Crown entity. It is supposed to develop and implement strategies programmes and activities for trade industry and regional development as directed by the Government. It is just a whole bunch of clichés. At one stage the speech of the Minister the Hon Jim Anderton was just a non-stop recurring cliché. This Government really has nothing to offer New Zealand in the way of new ideas for trade. When this bill’s predecessor was introduced in July 2000 the Hon Jim Anderton commented that: “Industry New Zealand will be a special purpose agency with a clear mandate. It will be facilitative it will listen and it will deliver.” Well all it appears to have done in that time is get involved with Sovereign Yachts in Hobsonville and that commercial enterprise has not been a very great success—it has barely been any type of success at all and it certainly has not delivered the amount of jobs that was promised by the Labour Party. 
New Zealand First wants to ensure that we trade our way in the world. Our policy is very clear on the support we would give businesses to ensure that they are able to take advantage of their successes the products they produce and the returns they will bring to New Zealand. On the face of it this bill says nothing at all and when the Minister delivered his speech he really said nothing at all except for a considerable amount of clichés. 
I am pleased that United Future is now supporting this legislation because as we all remember United Future opposed the earlier bill in the year 2000-01 but it has changed its mind. Listening to the speech from Peter Dunne one would not have believed that he actually voted against this legislation in 2000-01. He was full of rapturous applause and support for it today but at that time he opposed the bill. It goes to show that United Future has a strange idea of what common sense is. It was common sense in 2000-01 to vote against this bill but somehow it is now common sense to support a similar type of legislation. It just goes to show how amenable it can be to survival in this House. 
One point that New Zealand First raised in the select committee is recorded in New Zealand First’s minority report: “New Zealand First’s view is that it is not sufficient in developing the Statement of Intent for the new organisation to restrict the input to just the integrating organisations. Tourism and the associated industries represent a significant export sector and as such should be recognised as an integral industry for the purpose of this bill. Tourism and tourism industries have expanded as a result of enterprise and conversely industries have also developed as a result of tourism. Tourism industry should be party to the development of the strategies of the new agency.” 
It is very aptly stated in the minority report that tourism and tourism industries have expanded as a result of enterprise and conversely that industries have also developed as a result of tourism. There should be some acknowledgement in the area of New Zealand trade and enterprise of the support given to trade and enterprise by New Zealand’s successful tourism industry which is based on our natural resources. I was looking at the bill and wondering at its real inadequacies in all respects and I looked at the interpretation clause and at the definition of “borrow”. It seems to me that if the definition of “borrow” includes the financing of lease arrangements—and there needs to be some sort of definition for a lease-type arrangement or a hire purchase agreement—then this rather inadequate legislation should also at some point indicate that this particular board has the right to lease premises. I presume that it will be in some premises; I doubt that it will own those premises and I really wonder at the small degree of thought given to the legislation itself. 
I must congratulate the select committee on the amendment to clause 9(1)(b) which is to “provide a conduit for input and advice from industry” and which includes trade unions local government—which was in the legislation already—regions education and research organisations potential investors and individual enterprises on programmes to implement the Government’s policies for economic industry and regional development. It is important for the trade union movement to be involved in all sectors of the community. 
There is nothing worse than for people to reject any sector of the community on some sort of political basis and New Zealand First will be only too pleased to work with the trade unions the regions education and research organisations and the other areas I have mentioned when we come into Government after the next election. We will be putting forward policies that will ensure that New Zealand’s small businesses big businesses and the like get ample support and recognition for trade and exports overseas. They have always been the cornerstone of New Zealand development and New Zealand First will ensure that they continue to be so in the future.