Bennett DavidANIMAL WELFARE AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingDebate resumed from 27 September.Hon DAVID BENNETT (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. I'll take a short call on the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill because much has already been said over many readings around this and the nature of what has been proposed by the Government in this case.Some of the earlier speeches really focused on the issue of bobby calves and the nature of what actually will happen to those calves now because in this case many stock that would have gone for sale will now have to be processed at a very young age. So that is an issue which contrasts I guess with the intention of what we hear the Government is wanting to do over time which is to increase the percentage of calves that are reared. And there does become an issue that if the farmers are expected to rear those stock and they don't have a source to be able to sell those stock then it becomes an issue for the New Zealand farming sector in general. Taking away this opportunity for farmers to sell that stock at a later age really does create some issues down the track if that bobby calf percentage for example that would have to be reared was mandated. That then would create some big issues for some of the dynamics in the New Zealand primary sector. Traditionally the dairy industry has been one of the more profitable land-based sectors and the ability of that sector then having to rear that many calves actually then compromises your sheep and beef sector a sector that's already under attack through forestry in many cases because the land classes that the sheep and beef farmers are generally on are much more suitable for forestry as they're generally cheaper to purchase than the dairying land. So there could be some implications down the track from decisions like this that could be complicated or compounded you could say by further decisions that a Government may make around young stock. It may seem like a fairly simple decision for the Government of the day at the moment but cutting off this option actually does have some implications down the track if further decisions were to be made. So we on this side of the House oppose the bill. We think the Government hasn't considered the long-term implications for the sector and it's very much a knee-jerk reaction to probably get some urban votes and hasn't taken into account what actually needs to happen in the New Zealand primary sector.In saying that we all want to make sure that the highest standards of any transport of stock especially to overseas are maintained and met. So there's no doubt and no question from this side that that's something that could be worked on and would also be without question something that needed to happen if this trade was to continue. There's also the idea of the scale of the trade: that potentially the Government could've taken a much more considered approach. We need to have an open economy where we do trade and if they felt that the scale of the trade was getting too big then there may have been an option for the Government to some kind of cap process rather than a complete ban of the trade. Hon Members: Ha ha!Hon DAVID BENNETT: And the Labour members may be laughing but it's a trade that's been going on forever and a day and you know there's also the implications of what the Ministry for Primary Industries is doing around embryos and semen to stop effectively a lot of that coming into New Zealand and so it could actually close the genetic base of New Zealand if we're not willing to trade. So there are some wider implications than just the Oh yeah no we've banned the export of livestock and that's a great idea from the Labour Party members". There's actually some real implications around the genetic diversity of the New Zealand herd if we're having a closed approach in New Zealand to its fullest extent. And there will be some implications I'm sure if further decisions are made by Governments around bobby calves in future. Thank you."