van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Speaker. Look it's a pleasure to take a call on the final reading of the legislation to enact the free-trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand. Now I'm very pleased with the efficient consideration the House has been able to grant for this piece of legislation. It has proceeded through from first reading right at the end of January until now the third reading in a very efficient and effective manner—and I say effective because we still conducted the select committee process. We enabled submitters to come to share their views to raise concerns we made some tweaks with officials as well and I would really like to acknowledge the work from all parties that helped to achieve the deadline we set for ourselves. The Minister the Hon Todd McClay generously gave us a deadline of 4 April; we soon discovered that with efficient consideration we could actually bring that forward 10 days which would then enable the agreement to come into effect a month earlier than it might have which indeed was still a month or two earlier than it could have prior to that. And so the end result is by being able to complete the third reading today we will see this agreement come into force on 1 May. And that's significant particularly for those groups that will be benefiting such as the horticultural sector—kiwifruit onions in particular; right in the peak of their export window through that period. And so simply that one month increase let alone the additional couple of months that we've gained has a direct financial benefit. It is one of the more satisfying things we can achieve in this House where we can pass a piece of legislation and we can directly see the tangible benefit it has for New Zealanders. This is particularly pertinent at a time where we see increasing pressure economically in New Zealand. We are facing some headwinds. We've just seen GDP figures out today showing we are now in recession. And so the impetus we can gain from this an extra 100 million per year on day one once it comes into force that annual improvement will absolutely be welcomed and accepted within the economy here.But it's not just that; it's the opportunity that's presented by an agreement like this as well. Of course it benefits existing exporters from New Zealand to the EU and vice versa but it also opens new pathways new opportunities for businesses here in New Zealand and in the EU to open broaden expand create opportunities to export into their respective markets and to grow their local economies off the back of that. That aspiration is something we are very proud of and I do want to acknowledge particularly the members on this side of the House and that side of the House—everyone came together on the select committee to achieve this progress.I also want to pick up on what the Minister said in his speech around the collaboration across successive Governments to deliver on this outcome today because it has been a long process and that's always the case with free-trade agreements. They are never easy pieces of legislation or agreements to get in place and then enact. It does take time. Understandably there are a lot of negotiation points across a whole raft of areas and I really want to acknowledge the team that contributed to the outcome that was reached last July and of course the team on the select committee and the officials we had that helped our prompt consideration through that as well. As I touched on submitters shared their views. We heard a range of considerations within that some to do with dissatisfaction of what the agreement achieved. Obviously that's outside the scope of what we were considering and the legislation that enabled the free-trade agreement to come into place. But we do hear those concerns and you know to my earlier point you never get everything you want as well. There will always be give and take. That's how it should be in an agreement but at the same time it's also important to note that we are always looking to improve for New Zealanders the opportunities that they have to export.So this is an exciting step as the new Government is able to complete a process that has taken many years but is going to be a direct benefit in a time where it is certainly needed and I think is a great reflection of the strong increased focus we've seen under the new Government to dial up that level of external engagement. It really is critical for us as a small country at the bottom of the world with a very strong export focus to be out engaging on a regular basis to be constantly building enhancing and expanding those relationships we have with other countries and groups around the world such as the EU. So on that basis it's fantastic that we are here only a few months into this 54th Parliament able to enact this legislation. I think as well given that we are seeing increasing geopolitical uncertainty globally it's a fitting time for us to deepen those relationships with partners with which we have shared values. And this is a clear reflection of that as well. I was fortunate enough just yesterday to be having a meeting with the European Union Ambassador to New Zealand His Excellency Lawrence Meredith who's been a strong proponent of this agreement in only the short few months that he's been here and we're talking about the benefits that it would offer to both parties and the ability to grow that relationship to the next step. And that's something we're very much focused on in this Government and this agreement but also with future ones that we'll be looking to explore over the course of this term and beyond. So it's a real pleasure to be able to commend the European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill to the House for its third and final reading to come into force very soon for the benefit of New Zealanders. Thank you.