Hutchison Paul: Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Hutchison Paul: Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:664;Page:12154] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) 
: 
 I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill. It is undoubtedly another great achievement for the National Government although I must note that the genesis of it has been over a long period of time. It would even date back to the days when the current Speaker the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith—not the Assistant Speaker who is currently in the Chair—was spending time up in that area. Often it takes time to achieve— 
Simon Bridges 
: Good things take time. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: That is right. Undoubtedly not only will this agreement have the effect of expanding our vital trade with Malaysia and the remainder of the Asian area but also tariff reduction will be sped up at a far greater rate than was expected to occur under the initial agreement that established the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area. 
There is no doubt that that is wonderful for some of our most important innovative products. Kiwifruit is the classic example. We were absolutely dazzled by the innovation of Zespri the other night. It brought us its new varieties of kiwifruit: a particularly sweet one designed for the Asian market not to mention the pink one which would suit the Labour Opposition but it was a fine fruit. The real point of this— 
Grant Robertson 
: There’s a point? 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: There is a huge point and it is that kiwifruit is a little fruit that had very little significance anywhere in the world until New Zealand innovators grasped it by its skin and made it a highly valuable export product. Obviously this free-trade agreement is a living example of New Zealand’s benefiting from that approach. 
I was intrigued by the contribution of Dr Kennedy Graham. As always it was extremely thoughtful. I must say that we cannot agree with all the thoughts behind it but I look forward to having a look at the list of names of environmental economists that he read out. For me a simple-minded physician surgeon I often think of the words of Galbraith who pointed out that economics were common sense made complicated. Some of the thoughts of Kennedy Graham did seem to be a trifle complicated. 
It was interesting to hear the contribution from the Minister of Trade Tim Groser who has made a tremendous contribution not only to this agreement but also to many others. He mentioned that econometric models on the impact of tariff removal clearly are very problematic to rely on but he went on to say that free trade is a pragmatic way of advancing the welfare of New Zealanders and of the other country that is involved. It is extremely important to realise that this agreement is just one of the many free-trade agreements that New Zealand is entering into. The countries involved do not just include China; before too long they are likely to include India Indonesia and the USA which means almost half of the world’s population. There is no doubt that free trade is a pragmatic way of advancing the welfare of New Zealanders because we are an exporting nation and free trade is the pragmatic way by which we will have if we are successful in exporting first-class education first-class health services first-class welfare services etc. 
But it is also important that we respect the fundamental cultural differences between countries. I keep being reminded of those in the areas of tobacco yes and alcohol etc. but also on a day-to-day basis. I had a group of Malaysian teachers in my office this Monday afternoon up in Pukekohe and I asked them what they were doing in terms of climate change. They said that pervading their school system was a great and increasing consciousness of practical measures to improve the environment. So it is very refreshing that for one of the first times ever environmental protocols are built into this agreement. I think Kennedy Graham was slightly sceptical about that—and he has a furrowed brow on my saying that—but it is a very important start in terms of practical implementation. Hopefully that will be part of the agreement that has been achieved. 
This agreement is incredibly important for an exporting nation such as New Zealand. I was delighted to hear from Jacinda Ardern that steel tariffs will be coming off. That is vital for the area I represent Hunua and clearly it is vital for the future of New Zealand.