Willis ScottSCOTT WILLIS (Green): I want to commend Helen White's call for the Government to pay attention to what we can do because it is quite apparent that the Government is mostly concerned with breaking not creating and we have an opportunity to do so much better. Previous National Governments haven't been so destructive. Perhaps it's the major party's partnerships that are pushing them in this direction because it is clear that the Business Payment Practices Act was not perfect—that's true—but does it need to simply be repealed and we're being left with nothing because you haven't got the ability to create something to make something to improve and to amend? We can see the value certainly in ensuring Government agencies pay on time. That can be amended and that could be part of the Act. How do we incentivise small and medium sized enterprises to use e-invoicing? Now that's something that I would like to know more about because it's not simple to ask people who are dependent on rural broadband—because our rural communities are suffering; those who are working in our national space—to invoice without good connectivity. What are we going to do to ensure that e-invoicing is available to everyone? Are we going to also improve rural broadband? Are we going to deal with the infrastructure crisis? We seem to chop and change with this new Government. What we have clearly is an upside down approach because the Government is claiming they're simply going to repeal and then at some point replace. Again we've heard about the step backwards. We've been taking a leap backwards over the last 100 days—it's simply Repeal repeal repeal."—and a clear code for big business is needed. We've heard the Government say that they want to save businesses money but which businesses do you want to save money really? Is it the businesses who might donate because this is a real concern for us? If the Government is simply wanting to ensure that big businesses don't meet their obligations and are not required to and it is not really concerned about the culture change we need in big business then you would certainly not want to be repealing this legislation right now or the Government would be concerned with making amendments to ensuring it serves its purpose. I think there is good reason to be concerned with the Australian scheme. It's an opportunity to learn from it; not an opportunity to say that because it's not perfect we need to reject it. The perfect is the enemy of good in this. We need change. We need change for our small and medium enterprises. We need change for our businesses so that people don't have to forgo their homes so that they don't have to have to fail so that our innovators our risk takers can thrive can build a thriving economy can build community enterprise can pay their wages can pay overheads and can ensure regional development. What we're seeing with this backward approach is simply more of the same: simply supporting big business—the big corps—rather than the 97 percent of businesses in New Zealand. The Government isn't looking after business; the Government is looking after corporates. That's what this repeal is all about. It is not looking after those who are the backbone of our economy. It's not looking after those who have families who work who employ people; it's looking after the corporates. That is what is so disappointing about this bill because the Government has claimed in the past that they are the Government for business—clearly not. Clearly this Government is a Government for corporates; not for business not for the majority of New Zealanders. That is a real concern. We care. We care about our community we care about our small businesses we care about our small and medium enterprises and we want to ensure that there is legislation and there is a cultural shift so that we support the good corporates who do right by our small businesses and we encourage the bad ones to do so much better. This was a small step that this Government wants to take away repeal with nothing else and not put anything in its place. The Government says that there's something nice coming but hasn't provided the option for us to look at it. Hon Andrew Bayly: I've told you the seven different things we're going to do. SCOTT WILLIS: The member told us the seven different things—that's right—and has simply placed a repeal of an Act in front of us. So that's the problem. The problem is that the member doesn't seem to have a clear idea about how we are going to support our small and medium enterprises in any meaningful way. There is clear evidence that there's a lack of understanding of the challenges they face and we have heard evidence from across the bench. From our Labour colleagues we have heard evidence of how they are struggling—how our small and medium enterprises are doing it so hard. We have so many examples of people who are going to the wall because the payments do not come in on time and this is why it is so disappointing that we can't hear from them. We can't have an opportunity to listen to them in select committee and make good decisions. We are rushing this through under urgency for no good reason except that the member seems enamoured with urgency to make the changes that the member requests and requires. I don't buy the argument that at the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment there's going to be a blowout of costs. We do need IT and we do need data collection. There is no waste in ensuring we're doing something better; there is a waste in the loss of income to our small and medium enterprises that continues with the repeal of this Act. So I would urge the member to look at the amendments that are being put forward and to make some changes that will ensure that we've got some teeth to ensure that we're not forgetting our small and medium enterprises which are the backbone of our economy. Simply I think—and I appeal to the member—we have a responsibility to foster an economy that uplifts everyone not just the privileged few and that means looking after small and medium enterprises not simply the corporate donors to the National Party coffers. So I would just like to reiterate that we hear again and again and again that the National Party wants to get us back on track and yet all we've seen is back on baccy—back on baccy—with the repeal of the smoke-free Act. There is so much more you can do and repealing this Act is not going to get us there. Kia ora."