SpeechMARK PATTERSON (NZ First): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to offer actually a strong endorsement of this Organic Products Bill. But before I start that I'd just like to echo the words of Todd Muller in terms of our farmers out there at the moment. We know there are significant issues with drought and uncertainty with the emergence of the COVID-19 situation. This is a critical time: it's peak kill in the meat industry and peak picking season for our produce. I see the first kiwifruit boat went away and we need to keep those supply chains open. We will be doing absolutely everything we can within this House and I'm sure as offered with cross-party support to make sure that we support our farmers in every way that we can during this situation. In terms of this bill in New Zealand First we absolutely support this bill. I think to standardise the organic certification is as I said at the start a long-overdue and necessary step. We're one of only two out of the top 25 OECD countries that does not have a standardised system. For a country that absolutely prides itself on leading the world particularly in our primary industries of agriculture and horticulture that is just not acceptable. It's a $600 million industry as it stands and worldwide it's $116 billion and growing significantly. So it is an important part of our economy but we need to give it the foundation stone and framework to reach an even higher potential. Of course as we look to expand our free-trade deals around the world—the EU and the UK are very close to being on the table hopefully—we look at things like non-tariff barriers and the hurdles that could be thrown in our road. This is an anomaly that needs to be fixed up so it's not an own goal of sorts as we look to work our way through those very complex negotiations. Of course it is part of the wider efforts for a value over volume strategy and I guess organics is almost the exemplar of that. As David Bennett recently pointed out you can be 30 percent less production but you can get up to a 50 percent premium. So it's all about the premium: you've got to be able to get the premium because you are trading off production. So this standardised organic certification will help with that making sure that we're underpinning that premium that is available in the market place. Actually one of the proudest things I've done since I've been in this House is taking a very keen interest in mānuka honey and protecting the term mānuka" for our honey producers so that only New Zealand mānuka honey can claim that term. The Provincial Growth Fund put in about $5 million there and I think this is along similar lines. It's a framework. It's something we as a Government can do to underpin the commercial sector as they seek to add value for New Zealand. There's also of course the regenerative farmers. There's also potential and maybe they could look to a standard. I'm not sure that that's something that is before us or in its gestation period but it's something that we could look to do over time as well. But we have to as a fundamental get the organic standard sorted out first. There is I think it's fair to say a little bit of farmer angst over this. I think in the submission or consultation period there was quite a majority—about three-quarters—of farmers who were quite supportive of this move. But there are different entities that do the classifications at the moment and so there are different qualifying regimes. I think that we will hear through the select committee process that in some of those regimes with shorter qualifying times there may be a hole that some of their members fall into where they are organic and then all of a sudden they're not and then they need to get to the new standard. So that's something that the select committee will have to look at and I'm sure will come forward through the submission process. So it's not universally popular but I think as we work through the select committee we can make sure they get a fair hearing and make sure we land it in the right place. Of course it's different standards. If you're exporting into the EU or the US they have different import standards so the different entities that are classifying at the moment can tailor their package to wherever their end market maybe is. By bringing it under one umbrella so to speak—under one standard—we will help simplify that system for our overseas markets and our overseas consumers that need to have a good deal of confidence in our system back here.Of course it's not just food we're talking about; there are drinks textiles and cosmetics. One of the questions I'll have through the select committee process is I see that the standards will be overseen by the relevant ministry—not just the Ministry for Primary Industries and not just the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment; it could be one of many. I just wonder whether that's the right way to go about it or whether we should have one ministerial oversight. But that will come through as I say in the select committee process. It does allow some flexibility. We will be looking for some flexibility in this in compliance costs because I note that while we're probably focusing on the Doug Vosses of the world—the big end of town—there's also a lot of very small producers that produce to the local market right down to roadside stalls. How are we going to bring in a standard that maybe can still reflect their organic standard without having to go through the necessity of a vast compliance process? So that'll be something that we will work through.In terms of what the actual regulations look like I go back to the country-of-origin food labelling that we did probably about 12 months ago and that got very complex very quickly. I think Todd Muller alluded to that in his contribution. That'll be something that we as a select committee will have to make sure that we don't allow to get too convoluted. But I have a great deal of confidence. The Primary Production Committee—as painful as it is to me to admit—under David Bennett's chairmanship has actually been working extremely well. I think the Farm Debt Mediation Bill and the dairy industry restructuring legislation that's about to be reported back were examples actually of what I think the public would expect our select committee process to be like. They've been very constructive and given the support from the Opposition for this bill I see it being no different this time. So New Zealand First looks forward to that select committee process and supporting this bill further through the House. Thank you."