Guy Nathan: Meat Board Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Guy Nathan: Meat Board Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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NATHAN GUY (National) 
: 
 I rise in support of the third reading of the Meat Board Amendment Bill in front of us this evening but in doing so that does not mean I rise in support of the Government at all. I actually rise to support the landowners of New Zealand the meat producers and the meat industry in general. I am not supporting the Government because who would want to support those members right now? They are a corrupt dishonest lot—$882000 of taxpayers’ money used—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Would the member please withdraw and apologise—that offends the House. 
NATHAN GUY 
: I withdraw and apologise. I am trying to say that I am not supporting the Government through my support of this bill; I am supporting the primary production industry which Government members do not seem to care too much about. Those members have all the buzzwords spinning around but they are doing very little to help people at the grassroots—the engine room of the economy. 
This bill will tidy up a bit of ambiguity surrounding the quota system. The system has been operating since 1997 and in 2004 it was enshrined into an Act. The legislation will actually stop a legal challenge from occurring and the Primary Production Committee supports it. 
I think it is important to give a few numbers around this sector. Exports worth $4.5 billion come from this industry and in about another 5 years’ time that sum is forecast to be out to $21 billion. Passing this bill through its third reading this evening will allow meat industry operators who hold an export licence to gain benefits right through to the farm-gate level. It is important that competition is alive and well in this industry and this amendment bill will ensure that the money will flow right through to the grassroots—right through to those people at the farm gate the engine room of our economy. 
I think that to ensure that the money flows through from the farm gate into the provincial towns and the economy we need to ensure that we continue to capture the green and natural image we hold in this country. I need to endorse the farmers out there who are doing their utmost to follow the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord; many of them are now also getting up to speed with nutrient budgeting. When we look at that whole quota market we see that this legislation is about ensuring that we protect the natural state we have here. It is extremely important as we look into the quota aspect that the actual— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: What? 
NATHAN GUY 
: I tell Mr Cosgrove if he would stop interjecting from the back row and just listen that I am trying to say that the true value of the quota is around making benefits from what we have in this country an island nation. Those benefits are around our green natural state. That state is what we have; it is what a whole lot of other countries do not have. 
I was fortunate enough in 2000 to go on a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Was that with the council? 
NATHAN GUY 
: No it was not. Mr Cosgrove keeps going on about double-dipping and I have mentioned to him before in the House that I am still on the council and that I am not double-dipping. I tell Mr Cosgrove that I am not collecting my salary—let us put that on the record and carry on with what is in front of us now. 
I was saying in relation to my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship that when I went over to North America I followed produce—beef exports—from this country right through from gate to plate. I saw the produce slaughtered I followed it through on to the ship and I was at the Delaware port when it arrived. Our produce went through the whole quota process and when it arrived in North America it was great to see that it met the stringent standards of the United States Department of Agriculture. Our processors in this country are doing a fantastic job in meeting the department’s standards which are stringent around food safety. Having gone through some of the plants in North America I can say that it is amazing to see how stringent we are in comparison with some of those companies. The money from this quota flows through to those people at the farm-gate level and it is really really important fundamentally that we meet the United States Department of Agriculture’s stringent food quality standards. 
It is also important as we look at this legislation going forward and capturing the true benefits through to the farm-gate level to ensure that we have enough money going into biosecurity in this country. If we had a tuberculosis outbreak an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy—mad cow disease—or an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease here this bill would not matter. It would not matter at all because such outbreaks would be detrimental to the engine room of our economy represented by primary production people whom I do not think get enough recognition in this House. So we and the Government in particular need to ensure that we have enough money going into biosecurity. We saw a bit of a scare last year at Waiheke did we not? That showed just how vulnerable we are in this country. We must at all times realise that if we had such an outbreak here agriculture would be as a former Labour Prime Minister mentioned a sunset industry. 
 But that is not what is happening now. When we look at those figures that I talked about before we see that just from the meat producers $4.5 billion of exports is going out every year—and that is forecast to be out to $21 billion in another 5 years’ time. Meat production is a significant export earner that has money flowing right through to those people at the farm-gate level and into our rural and provincial towns. 
Just to summarise I tell the House that we had about five oral submissions on this bill through the Primary Production Committee. We had some other submitters who unfortunately could not come and make their submissions in person so we read those submissions. We looked at both sides of the argument—and the argument clearly had two sides. We took our time in digesting all of those different thoughts and we came up with the fact that we just needed to tidy up this legislation. That is why the amended bill will go through this evening. National is supporting the bill because it will tidy up any ambiguity and it will ensure that competition carries on in what is an extremely important industry to New Zealand. That is not acknowledged on that side of the House but it is here tonight by the National Party.