Grigg NicolaNICOLA GRIGG (National—Selwyn): Yes Madam Speaker I rise just to take that short call on the Therapeutic Products Bill and like my colleagues I too oppose this bill. The National Party did support this bill at the first reading and I suppose you know we still have a belief in the process of democracy and we wanted to see it referred to the select committee to go through that thorough rigorous assessment and more importantly to invite the public of New Zealand to have its say. I think the public of New Zealand has been pretty adamant in its opposition to this bill. Other people have quoted the numbers and I thought it was extraordinary: 16586 submissions with 16057 in opposition. I think that is a very loud clear message to the Government that it has not got this thing right. That's 97 percent of submissions in opposition to it.Yet again and my colleague Matt Doocey referred to it this select committee process has just been a farce and we've seen it multiple times with multiple pieces of legislation that have come before this House where the public has been very strident in its views and it has just been ignored. We've seen so many times when the Labour Party's majority on a select committee has just rammed bills through with absolutely no consideration to what the people of New Zealand are saying.Look it's not just members of the public. I understand there's been submissions from peak bodies from organisations like Malcolm Mulholland's Patient Voice Aotearoa from Natural Health Products New Zealand and from the New Zealand Chiropractors' Association. I did giggle when I saw this and I can't quite believe we're on the same side of the ledger here but even Jane Kelsey is on the same side as the National Party. So you know I think that does speak volumes as to how far away from the right side of history the Government is on this.But I think more importantly there's some really fundamental principles at stake here. And look I don't sit on that select committee but I am an electorate MP and I have heard loud and clear from the people of Selwyn that they hate this thing. They absolutely hate it. And it is mostly because they're so angry and so appalled at the idea of having freedom of choice taken away from them.The National Party understands the principles and the needs for regulation around safety and all that kind of thing; we do. But this is an extraordinary overreach from the Government. And it really does come down to an issue of natural justice. It is not fair. We don't believe that the proposed regulator is either going to have the time resource or indeed the inclination to make sure timely factory approval or market authorisation is given particularly to the cottage industries that have emerged especially in and around the natural health products area. And again I have these cottage industries around Selwyn all the time particularly in deer velvet and mānuka honey production and often these are young couples often these are farming people they are looking for a substitute income they are looking to—you know they deeply believe in their product and in the efficacy of their product and what it can do to enable the health of other New Zealanders. And they want to be able to share those products and take them to market. But under this proposal this regulator is going to make it so hard for them to be able to do that and even harder for them to be able to have you know a viable business so to speak.We heard a very defensive speech from the Minister I think who really is doubling down on this piece of legislation that New Zealanders just abhor and oppose. Again to have this House informed of the process that really has gone on which you know the Government members of the select committee worked in conjunction with the Opposition members on and came up with a proposal that you know the Minister is now overriding and is apparently going to introduce Supplementary Order Papers—we are yet to see whether or not they do transpire in the committee of the whole House. But it is just yet again an issue of fairness; it's yet again an issue of a Government that said it was going to be the most honest transparent open Government in the history of the world. And we just keep seeing time and time and time again legislation that New Zealanders oppose that we Opposition parties oppose and it just keeps being rammed through without any thought for the consequence to the sentiment of New Zealanders and to indeed our views on democracy. So with that I do oppose this bill and we will continue to do so.