Muller ToddTODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is with no small measure of satisfaction that I stand in support of the third reading of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill this afternoon. Can I begin by acknowledging a few people. Absolutely Simon Bridges our leader—I don't think there's enough understanding of the focus that he had from the moment he became leader to lean in to issues such as this with more determination than we had done previously and to outline very clearly the principles that would underpin our approach with climate change. He did that and he was a fantastic source of judgment and guidance through the process that we followed.Can I acknowledge you Kennedy—Kennedy Graham who helped guide me to a greater understanding of climate change from very much a zero-carbon base. I've learnt a lot over the years. To Scott Simpson my colleague the National Party team on the Environment Committee—thank you. I do want to acknowledge James Shaw. There are certain people that you meet in this place who you can connect with. He is one of them. He is a man of huge character and integrity. There were many times in the last 18 months of this process where things could have turned out differently but for his determination to see this as an opportunity beyond partisan politics the credit in no small measure sits with him.I'd like to address my comments this afternoon to the 23000 farming families of New Zealand. I am the National Party's agriculture spokesperson; I would like to speak directly to them. Now I appreciate that they are feeling quite understandably under a great sense of stress that they haven't felt probably in a generation. It started with the capital gains tax and various taxes that sat within that. It's been incredibly amplified by the Essential Freshwater Package which is in front of rural New Zealand in particular at the moment. I know that they will be looking at this zero carbon bill with some anxiety.Can I first say that we have worked assiduously to ensure there are some very strong protections that exist within this bill. Remember this bill is establishing a commission. This commission will advise successive parliaments around how we reduce over time the emissions profile of this country. But the advice that they provide parliaments must be anchored on a number of critical tests that we the National Party were determined to put in the legislation. The first was the importance of what the economic impacts would be. The second was that science needed to be at the forefront of their consideration. They needed to understand and reflect what was going on in the rest of the world. So regardless of what has been said by others in this House already that calibration with the global response is in the bill and we put that in there and it is an important part of this framework to give rural New Zealand some comfort.Now this is a solid bill but as you've heard from my colleagues there are areas that we intend to strengthen if we are given the privilege of leading this country next year. We will focus on the target to ensure that instead of a very wide range there is a specific number informed by the best and brightest that we hope will sit on that commission. As discussed food production will be included—the protection of food production the acknowledgment that that sits at the core of the Paris Agreement that created this endeavour in the first place. That will be put into the legislation more specifically and particularly for our farming families. We will make sure that there is a specific focus on the appropriateness of the ongoing use of forestry offsets and in particular how we can make sure that the carbon that exists on your farm is counted in this conversation around what you as farming families and rural operators bring to this solution—for you're already world leading and that needs to be acknowledged and we are going to make sure that the commission pays due cognisance of it.We need to be very upfront about the fact that agricultural emissions are a critical part of this country's challenge. It's half of our emissions profile. And the reason for that is because we have over 30 million cattle and sheep and five million people. As some would make out even some on the other side this is not a national tragedy; it is something that should be celebrated because the farmers of New Zealand ensure that the emissions from those cattle and sheep are the most emissions-efficient in the world. And so as we have the conversations that we need to have as a Parliament and as a country around how we deal with agricultural emissions this party will never forget that we stand on the side of farmers that we understand that the starting point is a position of global leadership.The Prime Minister earlier this afternoon said we must lead from the front in climate change. Prime Minister our farmers already do. She said we must lead in terms of innovation and science. Prime Minister every farmer every day is looking at opportunities to improve their business. It underpins the strength of this New Zealand economy. In fact the New Zealand story is one long arc of adaptation and innovation driven by the farmers of New Zealand.And so this party will ensure that as we have this conversation as we must and over time reduce our emissions we start the conversation from a position of acknowledgment: of acknowledging our farming families of this country for their day in and day out effort to produce the most emissions-efficient food in the world. It should be celebrated. We do not argue that we stand still. We accept that we must over the next five 10 and 15 years continue to build on that leadership position. But from the National Party success in reducing agriculture emissions is not a function of spending the next five years designing a tax to lay over the sector. The Government sees success and emissions reduction as a function of tax. This party the National Party sees success in reducing agricultural emissions from a position of partnership of acknowledging that our farmers are already the best in the world. What is needed is that we need to fuse that position with innovation with science and ensure that farmers feel supported on the journey.The farmers of New Zealand do not feel supported by this Government. All they see when you strip away the rhetoric of ambition is a fundamental view that this agricultural sector that leads this country that underpins our economy actually needs to be constrained because at the core of—[Interruption]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Order! Sorry to interrupt the member. It's really difficult with that amount of interjection going across both sides of the House. It is out of order.TODD MULLER: Thank you Mr Speaker. At the core of the Government's philosophy is a fundamental view that the future of the New Zealand economy must depart from its agriculture history that it must depart from the dependency that we have had the strength that we have in terms of producing food and fibre to the world. That underpins their view and they also see this conversation as I have said through the lens of punitive tax and a regressive approach in terms of how to deal with emissions. So I will repeat to be clear. This is a party the National Party that understands the importance of reducing our emissions.Mark Patterson: Vote against it then. Vote against it. If that's what you believe vote against it.TODD MULLER: We have always held the view and you've heard from my colleagues and we have taken leadership in the climate change conversation. It was National who signed us up to Paris. It is the National Party who stands here today and says that in this journey our journey we must—Mark Patterson: Come on vote against it then.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! I want to ask Mark Patterson to stand withdraw and apologise. [Interruption] I haven't finished yet. Interjections should be rare reasonable and relevant not continuously the same interjection—I think seven or eight times I heard it.Mark Patterson: I withdraw and apologise.TODD MULLER: Actually I might finish on that note because what we have sought to build is bipartisanship. And when I stand up and articulate our approach and the principles that have underpinned it the perspectives that we bring to the debate and the extent to which I try to give voice it gets shouted down. And so I put out to you to the New Zealanders that are listening that this is a collective approach to dealing with climate change. But this party stands to bring to the table a maturity a perspective an understanding that actually to do this we have to do it together and we have to look at ways that respect the other side's perspectives on how to do it.Thank you very much. I am very very pleased to be able to support this bill—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Sorry the member's time has expired. I understand this is a split call. I call Kiritapu Allan—five minutes.