Lewis Steph; O'Connor GregBIOSECURITY (INFORMATION FOR INCOMING PASSENGERS) AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingSTEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui): I move That the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. I mentioned earlier in the House today that in this place members often talk about what they know about what they've experienced and in relation to this bill I shared and previously spoke about my own experiences of what I know—that is growing up on a 486-hectare sheep and beef hill country block in the back of Waverley. Waverley is a small rural town in South Taranaki—predominantly a farming town. Hon Member: It's got a great racetrack.STEPH LEWIS: It does have a great racetrack. It's from having lived and knowing the reality of communities like Waverley that I know the significance of an impact that a biosecurity incursion would have on our food and fibre sector.As New Zealand recovers from COVID-19 it's our primary sector that's been at the forefront of our export-led recovery. At a time when our agriculture exports have hit a record $53 billion and will only continue to grow under this Government's Fit for a Better World Strategy we must take very precaution to protect our food and fibre sector from biosecurity threats. A robust biosecurity system will keep out unwanted pests and diseases protecting our natural environment delicate ecosystem and our economy. During the course of this debate I've spent a bit less time talking about how this bill protects our natural environment so tonight I'd like to spend a few moments on that. I came into this House wanting to create a better future for the people in the Whanganui electorate and I'm still 110 percent committed to that goal but in addition to that I find myself reflecting more and more on what kind of world I want to leave for my children Scarlett and Flynn who is six months old today. Are we going to leave them and their peers a world where they fear winters because they're so cold that thousands die of hypothermia every year? Are we going to leave them with a world where they fear summers because thousands die of heat stroke every year? Will they inherit a world where there is less space to accommodate people because of rising sea levels? Now I acknowledge that this bill does not solve or answer all of those big questions. But by taking small steps to further protect what we have it does make a small contribution. And it does this by asking that everyone operating a commercial craft—be that ship or plane—provides information about our unique biosecurity arrangements here in Aotearoa New Zealand. And that's important because here we think about biosecurity a little bit different to those who come from countries with shared land borders. For example when coming into New Zealand if we've been overseas and been on a hike through a bush or on a farm we know that before walking through our own native forests or walking on a farm we need to make sure that we've cleaned our shoes and boots. So we also need to make sure that visitors to our shores know to do the same. This bill guarantees that everyone arriving in New Zealand will be given information about how to help us protect our natural environments. This small step adds a layer of protection to our native trees grasses lizards frogs eels wētā birds and so on. In today's global environment we all know firsthand about the potential of diseases to spread rapidly. Air travel has increased the number of people crossing our borders every day and that increases the potential risk to our biosecurity. We've previously seen how foreign insects bacteria viruses and fungi can sneak in and get a foothold and the significant physical and economic impacts they have. The last thing any of us wants to see is a virus or a fungus sneak in on someone's snack or sneakers and decimate our native trees insects birds or aquatic life. As I said I want to ensure that we take every step possible to protect our unique natural environment and that includes making sure we do our bit to stop preventable biosecurity threats from entering Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to stop them from hitching a ride in with people visiting who want to come here to share the beauty of our country. We absolutely should share our taonga but let's do it safely. Let's not do it in a way that puts our taonga at risk. Let's take this small step to protect our natural environment so that it's there for my children and others like them. This is the third reading of the bill so I want to take this last opportunity to acknowledge some of those whose hard work has helped to get the bill to this stage. I will be the first to admit that just after the second anniversary of my election to this House I didn't expect to have had a bill pulled from the biscuit tin—let alone be standing here and participating in the third reading. So I am grateful for all of the mahi of the drafters the officials and the hard-working members of the Primary Production Committee. They've all helped to shape this bill so that it's even better now than it was at the first reading. Thank you again to the submitters who took the time to give feedback on this bill. I hope that they can see how their contributions have led to improvements in the bill. When enacted this bill would add another layer of defence to our existing biosecurity system. That's the system that helps to protect our outdoor environment where we fish where we farm where we grow food and where we hunt and explore our beautiful country. The passing of this bill will contribute to the protection of our food and fibre sectors and to the protection of our natural environments. It is with great pleasure that I stand for one final time to commend the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill to this House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.