Wedd CatherineCATHERINE WEDD (National—Tukituki): I support this bill. We've talked a lot about productivity tonight and you know I've come from an industry—the horticulture sector in Hawke's Bay—which is really really driven by productivity. During my time in the past 10 years I've really seen this industry grow hugely. We were targeting at one point to be a $1 billion industry. It was up around $900 million back in 2017. But growers have just found it so tough in the past six years with just so much regulation red tape compliance cost—it's been really really difficult to grow. And I just want to touch on some points that you made across the House in relation to immigration because immigration is a really really important part of the horticulture sector. I want to touch on the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme because this is an incredible scheme where we see a lot of Pacific Island workers coming into Hawke's Bay and across New Zealand every year for up to three to six to nine months where they help the industries and the communities and then they're able to take the money that they earn back to the Pacific and they build schools—Hon Dr Duncan Webb: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker.CATHERINE WEDD: —and they build local water—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just a moment. I'm just going to take Dr Duncan Webb's point of order—I think I know what it is and the speaker is coming to the point of the productivity—CATHERINE WEDD: Yes and so this is—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Soon.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: I've heard about apples and I've heard about immigration Madam Speaker. I'm yet to hear anything about a repeal bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah she's coming to it.CATHERINE WEDD: Thank you very much for that point. What I'm doing is I'm building a picture here of what drives productivity in New Zealand and it's not a Productivity Commission that drives productivity; it's actually supporting the food producers and the growers in our agriculture sector. As my colleagues here have already mentioned that's what's going to drive productivity. So we do need to focus on our workforce and we need to focus on those labour shortages and empowering some of these industries to drive productivity which is essentially going to enable us to afford the public services that we desperately need. And so those are things like within the industries—[Interruption]No but it is actually relevant because I do have here—I will alert my colleagues from across the House here—an actual Productivity Commission report that was actually a submission by New Zealand Apples & Pears. They were actually very very disappointed with some of the reports that were written by the Productivity Commission. And to the point—I'm bringing it back to it. They talk in this report about how the New Zealand apple and pear industry is the most productive in the world producing 61 tonnes per hectare in 2017. That's 48 percent higher than our nearest competitor South Africa—you know 161 percent higher than the world average of 23.4 tonnes. So this actually all comes back to productivity. This is a submission here where they talk about the industry creating value through innovation supported by well-paid well-looked-after migrant workers who are also transforming their community which is what I just did touch on. So that is the relevance of it.But what happens here is the Productivity Commission is creating these reports and they're creating some recommendations that don't necessarily work in practice on the ground in the orchards in the productive sector. So I'm saying that what would be more beneficial is that if we're using those taxpayer dollars to fund certain organisations or areas we would be better to focus on reducing regulation and reducing red tape reducing a lot of the cost and compliance that our growers and our farmers and particularly our primary sector are facing at the moment. You know it is really really tough out there and we need to support better infrastructure around that too. I mean we need to look at ways that we can drive productivity on the ground. I would say that if we looked at you know water storage—I mean water storage in Hawke's Bay is a must. At the moment we're seeing our Hawke's Bay Regional Council reducing the allocations of our water supply and—DEPUTY SPEAKER: The bill—just bring it back to the bill.CATHERINE WEDD: Yeah but I'm getting to the point of the productivity because if we're going to drive productivity we need water and at the moment we don't have enough water. So it seems practical that we store the water in the winter so that we can use it in the summer and the only way that we can do that is by creating water storage. So I think that this certainly needs to be a priority. This will be something that I certainly will be advocating for.But there are other ways that we can improve productivity. I mean just last week I was actually at the port of Napier and it was just incredible to see the exports going through the port from forestry from apples from horticulture. We're actually just about to start onions and squash in Hawke's Bay as well. This is millions of dollars and I suppose the more that we can add value to these products the better. I suppose this again is driving productivity.And so I think that we need to be smarter in the way that we drive productivity in this country instead of wastefully spending money in bureaucracy in Wellington with people making rules at desks—and then we kind of find out in the community and the real world where we've got our gumboots on and we're up the ladders in the orchards of Hawke's Bay. It's tough and I think that the rules that are being made we need to really focus on are these good rules or are they just creating more compliance than regulation. And so that's why if we focus on regulation and how much of it and where it's being applied to I think that our provincial New Zealand would certainly welcome a focus in this area rather than more reports and more bureaucracy and more recommendations which don't necessarily get quantifiable results. The National Party and on this side of the House we're all about results we're all about outcomes and we're all about driving productivity and so this needs to be our focus. So I would definitely support us focusing on the key issues which need to be reducing that red tape and reducing compliance—DEPUTY SPEAKER: And back back back to the bill.CATHERINE WEDD: —and ensuring that we're focusing on the things that matter—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Would the member come back to the bill please?CATHERINE WEDD: —and that's looking at better infrastructure as well.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Back to the bill.CATHERINE WEDD: Back to the bill? OK.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The bill.CATHERINE WEDD: And so I absolutely commend this bill to the House.