Lees-Galloway Iain: Dairy Industry Restructuring (New Sunset Provisions) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Dairy Industry Restructuring (New Sunset Provisions) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:672;Page:18521] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 Clause 4 of the Dairy Industry Restructuring (New Sunset Provisions) Amendment Bill really gets to the heart of what the bill is all about. It extends the period for which the new sunset provisions apply and sets the percentage of milksolids that must be reached in both islands for the Minister to give a certificate to allow those provisions to apply. 
I wonder given that the Minister must sign a certificate that states the market-share thresholds for the North Island for the South Island or for both islands have been met whether the Minister in the chair the Minister of Agriculture is able to enlighten the Committee on any criteria that he might use in order to satisfy himself that he is in a position to sign the certificate that states that those market thresholds have in fact been met. Although members on this side of the Chamber support the new sunset provisions allowed for in this bill in order to ensure that there is competition in the market we are concerned that they allow an ongoing subsidy for some players in the dairy market and we do not want to see that subsidy going on and on for ever. So we need to be assured that the Minister will be applying the criteria appropriately. Perhaps he would like to take a call on that matter and just clarify some of the potential issues that may rise. 
It is noteworthy that the Primary Production Committee chose to include the West Coast in the South Island market-share threshold. Of course previously the West Coast was ring-fenced but I understand that submitters—I was not on the select committee myself— 
Shane Ardern 
: The member would have made a good member of the select committee. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: I thank the member very much. I appreciate that from the chairman of the select committee. My understanding is that submitters informed the committee that the availability of transport particularly the improved rail options meant that the West Coast no longer in their opinion needed to be ring-fenced in the way it had been previously. In fact a number of Canterbury farmers regularly approach West Coast independent producers offering to supply them. That meant that the South Island could be taken as one which shows that this bill reflects changes that have happened over time. The situation has moved on a long way from the situation in 2001 when the original Dairy Industry Restructuring Act which this bill is amending came into force. 
It is great to see that changes like that were able to be made. The bill will require the Minister to request a report on the state of competition in New Zealand when the market-share thresholds are met in either the North Island or the South Island. Again it would be useful to know what the content of that report would need to be for the Minister to trigger the provisions in this bill. We recognise that having no deadline for the report to be completed could result in some uncertainty for the dairy industry whilst it awaits the reviews the recommendations and the Minister’s response. It would be great if the Minister could perhaps take a call on some of those issues. 
One thing we hear time and time again from the farming community and from the dairy industry is that the more certainty they can get from legislation the better it is for their businesses the better it is for their production and the easier it is for them to budget. In a lot of ways they almost do not mind what we do in Parliament as long as they are absolutely clear about not only the intention of a bill but how it will actually be applied. Given that the Minister has a lot of say in how this bill will be applied it would be useful if the Minister could perhaps take a call.