Lee MelissaMELISSA LEE (National): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker. I was just looking at the clock and it had four minutes. I was wondering what was actually—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Yes I apologise. There was a technical issue completely caused by myself. MELISSA LEE: Thank you very much for that clarification. It's a pleasure to rise to speak on the third reading of the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Bill. I'd like to acknowledge the member who just took her seat the Hon Clare Curran. It was under her when she was the Minister of Broadcasting Communications and Digital Media that this bill actually came back to the House. I thank her for the acknowledgment of all of the communications Ministers before her who instigated this work which resulted in this bill that we had to look at in this Parliament. So I thank her for her work and for her passion. I guess you know we may differ in the broadcasting sector but we do actually agree in the communications sector and in the desire for New Zealand to be more connected in the utilisation of those telecommunications—ultra-fast broadband ultimately and also the 5G network that is coming—and in wanting to watch New Zealand develop into a nation that is actually leading in this field. So I thank her for her work. Also I thank the member for the descriptions of the results and the discussions that we've had under this bill. But there are a couple of areas that I'd like to sort of go into. I guess one of the things that I was particularly concerned about as the committee stages happened and when there were certain areas of the legislation that were brought to my attention which may potentially create a problem for companies—such as ultra-fast which the former member has sort of mentioned—was in terms of the definition of I guess things like access points which I've mentioned. So I will get into that later on in terms of the fibre network definition which I was hoping that the Hon Kris Faafoi might actually address in his final reading but I believe that he hadn't quite got there. So I have to say I'm slightly disappointed and I'm sure that members of the public who were actually hoping to get a little bit of clarity from the Minister may be disappointed in that fact.But 257 written submissions were given to the select committee and 31 were actually debated. One of the things that I want to clarify is that we want laws that are fit for purpose. We actually want to make sure as Clare Curran said and I support and I think all of us in this Chamber want—we want New Zealand to be a leader in this area. Throughout the consideration of the bill before the House many people expressed concern—and actually some of it was out of scope but there were concerns raised regarding the health concern. It wasn't part of the remit of the bill but they were talking about issues raised as a result of mobile phone technology particularly looking into the 5G technology that's coming forward and also the Mobile Black Spot Fund programme that the Government is delivering which began under the National Government. It was important during the consideration of the bill in the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee to make sure that we addressed some of these concerns. We even had advice received from the health advisers—the Ministry of Health. It is actually on page 26 of our departmental report which basically says—and I quote—There is nothing in the research which would indicate there is a need to change current policy on the health effects of radio waves." I am very satisfied with that answer. They are the experts and I believe that throughout the process of this bill going through select committee through the committee of the whole House stage and now in the third reading we are in fact answering the concerns of the public who have raised this with us. I feel quite satisfied that we've come to the right place on that.Another important issue that members of the public raised was in relation to the copper landlines being withdrawn and the advancement of fibre. I guess you know the Hon Tracey Martin talked about the 111 code and we've also discussed this: that nobody in this Chamber or throughout New Zealand wants to deny anybody who has vulnerability the ability to access 111. Nobody does that. Having said that to blame fibre or the withdrawal of copper for people's inability to contact 111 is actually false. It is actually the electronics that are the problem; it's not a copper versus fibre issue. I think we need to make that clearer but I'm glad that we've actually put something in the bill to make sure that the vulnerable people are addressed and the very fact that copper is still going to be maintained in areas where newer technologies are not available is something that many people in New Zealand will be very happy about from 2020 I guess. When there are no new technologies available copper will still be available so people can rest assured. Some constituents have actually also raised concerns about the old copper network. You know they want to make sure that when emergencies happen—they don't want the system to go down. A couple of weeks ago I had an opportunity to tour the major telecommunications network exchange hub in Christchurch to discuss what it was actually like during the earthquake for example. I had an opportunity to look around the actual cabling in that network and it was extremely I guess eye opening to see the old system. It was almost like a walk through a museum of old telephony with the circular dial and—I don't know what you actually call them—those wind-up phones that you used to have. To actually see the new technology being developed and how much cabling there was for copper versus how little there is for fibre—it was in fact quite an eye-opening experience. During the visit I guess I saw first-hand how much effort the companies have actually put into ensuring that telecommunications systems stay operational at such times when there is a power outage following a natural disaster. As I said the significant difference in size and capacity that fibre versus old copper technology showed was in fact very educational. I urge anyone who has an opportunity to go and actually see and visualise the new technology—I would suggest that they also do so. I guess I'm satisfied that the telecommunications operators know what they're going to be doing in the long term in terms of the phase-out of the copper and also replacement with fibre and the mobile-communications - based digital world of our future. To me the upgraded telecommunications network being put in place around New Zealand is essentially for the betterment of New Zealand's future New Zealand's communications New Zealand's digital sector and New Zealand's advancement in digital entertainment even. We actually need to be in the forefront and when people are developing new apps and new digital artificial intelligence virtual reality and augmented reality I think we need to make sure that we have the right framework designed and delivered for people to be able to work and lead in those areas. Despite some concerns that were raised by stakeholders as I alluded to earlier—concern about the access point issue—I guess like any legislation or any bill that is being debated in this House when all stakeholders are happy—it never happens. It's never going to happen. That means that the Government has actually perhaps not done their job if everyone's happy. I think when stakeholders on both sides of the debate are slightly happy on either side I think you have to sort of say that we've created a bit of a balance and as long as they're not too concerned I think they've done well—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): I'm sorry your time has expired. Thank you."