Lotu-Iiga Sam: Commerce Commission (International Co-operation and Fees) Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lotu-Iiga Sam: Commerce Commission (International Co-operation and Fees) Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 29 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2646. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 I take this opportunity to first say talofa lava which is Samoan. It is Samoan Language Week and it is an especially significant week this week because it is also the 50th jubilee celebrations of Samoan independence. So talofa lava to you and to our listeners at home and all the viewers around the country.  
I am honoured to speak on the Commerce Commission (International Co-operation and Fees) Bill and I want to bring the discussion back to the bill. It is an important bill because this bill is consistent with the Budget that we have heard being debated tonight. It is consistent with the goals of a Government that is looking to put this country back on track to recovery. After 9 long years of the Labour Government where the last 5 years of that Government saw exports contract this bill directly impacts the ability of our firms companies and organisations in this country to operate effectively in its trading markets and in particular the Australian market.  
The proposals in this bill are part of the single economic market reforms. It started with the John Key Government in 2009 when he led a mission to Australia alongside other Ministers in commerce portfolios where they got around the table and looked at how they could make our countries prosperous and how they could work together to develop a single economic market to allow both countries to prosper. The bill enables greater cooperation between our regulatory bodies.  
I acknowledge the Minister in the chair the Hon Craig Foss who is the Minister responsible for the Commerce Commission and the fine work that he does as our Minister of Commerce following on of course from the Hon Simon Power who was the Minister in charge of bringing this bill together along with the Hon Lianne Dalziel. It is part of improving our export markets. We know that this Government’s plan to open access to export markets is part of the recovery process. It is about building a more productive and competitive economy. So what do we do? It is about our firms operating overseas. It will allow the Commerce Commission to work effectively with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and other regulators to look at unfair trading practices as well as other anti-competitive behaviours.  
The cooperation between the regulators will involve some degree of information sharing. This Government is actually focused on information sharing to provide efficiencies in Government. We saw that with the welfare reform bill which allows for information sharing between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Development. We saw it with the information-sharing bill which I understand is being worked on by the Justice and Electoral Committee. By sharing information the regulators are able to more effectively monitor those companies that exhibit anti-competitive behaviour—monopolistic behaviour—as well as unfair trading practices.  
What is it about? Well yesterday I visited one of my businesses in my electorate. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Did they recognise you? 
Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: For the member opposite who continues to say that Maungakiekie is in South Auckland I say it is not. It is the heart of Auckland. It is the centre of Auckland. It is the heart of manufacturing not just in Auckland but in this country with companies like Rakon Coca-Cola and BSL Buckley Systems. They are big companies that actually provide jobs and opportunities for not just my local people but also people across Auckland. Maungakiekie is not in South Auckland; it is in the isthmus of Auckland between Onehunga and Panmure.  
What is our ambition? Our ambition is to remove the barriers to trade. Removing anti-competitive practices allows those firms that want to operate in foreign markets to have an equal footing. When we heard the seven submissions that came before the Commerce Committee we were concerned as a committee that this information sharing would allow for quite confidential and privileged information to be shared not just across borders but also to non-governmental organisations. They may be regulators but they are not Government organisations. We were concerned that that would be the case but we were reassured by officials that in the regulator to regulator exchange of information there would also be provisions to work with the Foreign Affairs Ministries in both countries and to work with Government organisations in order to facilitate the effective and efficient exchange of that information. That enhanced cooperation is about detecting and successfully penalising overseas-based parties that contravene this Act and other provisions of our commerce legislation.  
Why is it important? It is important because it promotes fair trade in domestic markets as well as in our foreign export markets. It is also about promoting competition in our local markets. As I said when I visited this business yesterday Baxter Healthcare which operates in both markets has plants and pharmacies in both countries and has distribution networks in both countries part of its concern was that it wants a regulatory framework that is consistent between the countries so that it understands that when it trades and when it produces and manufactures its goods it has a level playing field—a consistent playing field—not just between Australia and New Zealand but also with other foreign jurisdictions that this bill also affects.  
We heard those concerns about the regulator to regulator exchange of information. We were reassured by the officials and I am confident that this bill will actually promote effective and efficient markets. It is a bill that certainly had cross-party support during the select committee process. It is a bill that I believe continues to have that cross-party support. It is in the best interests of our international trading relationships especially with our biggest trading partner Australia that we have these single economic markets and that we have consistent law between the two.  
May I just add my own word of caution to this debate and the discussion we have had here tonight. It is certainly my view that we do not just adopt Australian legislation in toto and that we kowtow I suppose to Australian legislators. I think we are a Sovereign nation and we need to continue to develop our own law independent to that of our trading partners. When I look at this bill and when I considered this bill at length with my colleagues in the Commerce Committee I believe that the bill is in the best interests of our country and certainly in the best interests of my local manufacturers and those that trade with foreign countries. I certainly commend this bill to the House. Thank you.