SpeechAGNES LOHENI (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. A pleasure to stand in support of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 3) at the second reading. I'd also like to commend the members of the Primary Production Committee. It's pleasing to see the changes that have been made to ensure that we could reach an agreed position on moving forward as a country. The reality is we are facing incredible economic pressures and as in the past and so into the future we will need to trade our way back into prosperity. We will need to take active measures to ensure that we retain our competitive edge in our core industries.Dairy is one of those pillars upon which our economy is sustained. We are a country of 5 million feeding a population of 40 million through our dairy exports. This is a great source of satisfaction that we are able to do our bit for the world prosperity. It is a great example of taking our competitive advantage our ability to produce the cheapest feed for our dairy herds in the world and turn it into outcomes that see ordinary New Zealanders employed and able to make good for their families.Make no mistake ordinary New Zealand families will need the dairy industry to be operating at maximum capacity selling our dairy products into the world as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery. When this bill first came before us we did not support it as it lacked the competitive features that would make the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill a fit-for-purpose piece of legislation. I acknowledge the collaborative approach of the committee that it has taken as to enable us to support this bill in the interests of all New Zealanders.The removal of open entry requirements will allow Fonterra to take a more competitive stance in the market. As National we support competition in the knowledge that it generally brings out the best in business. Competition I see as the catalyst for innovation and excellence. The fact that other dairy entities have entered the market and through good practice have reduced Fonterra's market share shows the market works. To enable Fonterra to be able to make a more competitive stance the removal of the open entry requirements is critical. This will allow Fonterra to better consider each application against their own quality supply requirements. That is a good thing. Equally the open exit provisions will enable farmers to move between the best providers as they see fit. This will ensure Fonterra and its internal competitors maintain attractive conditions to enable real farmer choice.That said and to ensure new farmers have a fair chance to sell their product we support the retention of open entry. We need to ensure an intergenerational focus on farming in New Zealand and work to keep New Zealanders on our farms and innovating. We have been world leaders in dairy production in part because of this intergenerational view.The proposed new clause 20B will replace section 73 of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act which requires Fonterra to accept applications to supply milk. This clause needs to be discussed and further refined taking into account sector views and so I'm pleased to see the committee will do so. I note the committee is taking the unusual step of recommending a placeholder provision in our proposed new section 73(1). The committee expects the House to amend new section 73(1) to reflect exceptions through removal of open entry provisions. A strong competitive Fonterra and independent dairy processing business is vital to get us through this upcoming economic downturn that we face. I support this bill Madam Speaker.