Sio WilliamSu'a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Māngere): It is not often that we have a sexy bill such as this that comes up that people are dying to speak on! I note that my colleagues are saying that this bill provides a balance between encouraging competition in the innovative compound market and encouraging registration of innovative products. I also note that this will give our primary sector productivity an internationally competitive edge and that is where I want to ask Minister Goodhew a couple of questions. We have Realm countries that are part of the Pacific: Niue Tokelau and the Cook Islands. I want to ask the Minister does this bill apply to these countries? Does this new legislation apply to these countries? If so I then want to raise the concerns that I have because if we are providing an additional 3 years of protection to innovative—Meka Whaitiri: Trademarks.Su'a WILLIAM SIO: —trademarks for new compound my question is is there protection for Pacific intelligence when it comes to the use of certain compounds certain medicine or certain plants? Soursop for example and the use of papaya has international recognition and that is used freely by the Pacific so I am asking the Minister whether she is prepared to shine some light on firstly whether this bill applies to those Realm countries and secondly what protection do those countries have in terms of their intellectual property? The islands use these plants and fruits for free. Here we are looking at protecting the trademarks of compounds that have been produced for profit. That is why we are extending the protection from 5 to 8 years for new innovative findings. But I want to know does that then extend to the Pacific? In the Pacific papaya is used regularly by the Cook Islands people. I understand that the leaves and the fruit if boiled provide a certain relief to people who have cancer. Soursop—and there is material on the international market—is also used by local medicine people. That is offered for free. There is no money made by the people who use this. But here we are looking at protecting the rights of certain companies to come up with new innovative design—whatever. But this is about protecting their profit margins. It is about protecting their rights to be able to sell this on the international market.Ian McKelvie: It's not about protecting their profit.Su'a WILLIAM SIO: OK. Well then correct me. How does this apply to the Pacific? How does it apply to intellectual property that is owned by the Pacific people practised by the Pacific people and is freely available and it has no protection whatsoever? [Interruption] I hope the Minister can do. I am not on the Primary Production Committee but I have been officially appointed tonight to speak on this. I did not want to speak on it but I was asked to speak on it and I am delighted with the opportunity so I can now ask the Minister. I was dying to get on that select committee. I put my hand up five or six times to the whips to get on the select committee. But now that I have got this opportunity will the Minister take the opportunity to enlighten this Committee—particularly me from the Pacific and there were at least nine others on all sides of the House who would be interested in how this bill would protect the intellectual property that is not recorded anywhere in the Pacific but is freely distributed for the sake of providing well-being and health protection to a range of people in the Pacific. Will that be protected under this legislation? And what happens if nobody comes forth from the Pacific to protect that intellectual property? Will it be recognised?