Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): A few weeks ago I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the farewell for Her Excellency Laura Clarke at Homewood. Normally the Homewood Ball is something of a great occasion to attend but this one was particularly special and it wasn't because Laura Clarke can speak te reo Māori and that her children who have been here for a number of years were learning te reo Māori. It wasn't because of the festivities that had been held over because COVID had stymied the Christmas plans. It was because there was a real sense of achievement that a group of different people from different organisations had come together and achieved and landed something absolutely historical something more important than had been landed in about 50 years and that was the free-trade agreement between New Zealand and the UK.I spoke to Chris Insley from Te Taumata who had also done a submission a really powerful submission to our select committee about the benefits to Māori and the Māori economy and the way that this negotiation had been so different from previous ones where there was just unprecedented face-to-face contact and how proud he was of that and the benefits that it would bring to the Māori economy which we know was $68.7 billion in 2018 and which a Chapman Tripp report in 2021 says will grow by 60 percent over the next five years. So when I hear the Green member speaking about Te Tiriti and the problems about this gold standard UK - New Zealand free-trade agreement I'm not sure that we're talking about the same Treaty. Certainly the people we heard in the select committee from Te Ao Māori people like Chris Insley had a very different perspective and I'm inclined to take their word for it rather than politicians sitting in this House who don't represent those communities as well intentioned as they are. Now we've heard a lot about the economic benefits of this. It is a gold standard free-trade agreement. It will eliminate all tariffs between UK and New Zealand both ways and I repeat all tariffs". That is absolutely remarkable: 99.5 percent of those when the agreement comes into effect and the rest of them over a number of years. So apples butter cheese beef sheep meat and so on. But I want to really say that this is much more than just the economic side of it. This is about the commitment and the deep friendship between the UK and New Zealand that has never been more important than now in a space of contested geopolitics contested political ambitions ideologies and rules-based orders. We have heard about the value base that has not only allowed us to sign this agreement but also enabled negotiators to be able to do so in a digital world in a virtual world through COVID. That speaks volumes to the level of friendship the deep level of friendship that we have with the UK and also speaks volumes to the commitment from both sides for this agreement. I can say that I was the former director of the British Council in New Zealand and the Pacific. I know how much the UK values the friendship with New Zealand. Today happenchance I was having a coffee in Copperfield's with my successor Natasha Beckman who's doing a fantastic job. That organisation's been in New Zealand for 70 years. There is a big difference in the scale between the UK and New Zealand in terms of what we stand to gain. It is a massive market for us but I would just urge people who are listening at home to remember that this is more than just the economics; this is about our friendship. I absolutely tautoko the teams that have made this happen. I felt that at the farewell for Her Excellency Laura Clarke. And I really want to tautoko her for what she has done for that agreement. It's a day of celebration and I can't believe that I'm speaking about the same bill that the Opposition clearly don't want to celebrate because it is a great day for us. Thank you Madam Speaker."