van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to rise and take the last call on behalf of the National Party on the Organic Products Bill. Before I delve into that though I also want to just make a couple of acknowledgments. We are in uncertain times and certainly in the Waikato we've just had our first two cases of COVID-19. There's a lot of concern around where that might be and the implications of that so my thoughts are with those constituents. But actually on top of that whilst this is terrible there's still a drought as well. We haven't seen that so much in the media this week but it is still very much impacting on farmers across the country and I'd just like to remind the House and the public of that as well.So this bill provides a good opportunity. When we think about the challenges ahead of us agriculture has always underpinned the economy. I'm confident that it will continue to and having a strong platform to operate from is crucial to minimising the depth of the recession that we end up in. This particular bill can help play a part in that in terms of having a more structured regulatory environment that's consistent across the board for all organic operators in New Zealand to meet those same criteria so that everyone's on the same page. It helps in terms of market access internationally which is going to be vital for us when we're looking at maximising our return for the economy. But actually from a domestic perspective it helps encourage people to perhaps look at getting into organic farming if they hadn't considered it previously.Having a more consistent framework will support that but also it will give the banks a bit more confidence to lend to the sector. Banks are always cautious with lending decisions and I spent a number of years in rural banking myself. When you think about our sector that doesn't have a clear set of guidelines or a consistent framework across the country of course the banks will exhibit a bit more caution when they come to considering lending decisions in relation to a business proposal for such a sector. So this will help in that regard as well.But it is a growing market and we've heard the numbers already: $116 billion internationally. That is a massive opportunity. We're only capturing $600 million of that so far in New Zealand but with growing markets in organic wine as well as our standard dairy meat and wool products and of course a whole range of other areas that are starting to come through now as well—we've got $140 million from fresh fruit and vegetables which is leading the charge for us. So there are some good opportunities here and I'd just like to acknowledge a little win in the horticulture space up in our area. Again plan change 1 is going through at the moment a bit of an easing for horticulture some additional opportunities for them there—which is crucial again when we think about food production and the value and importance of that to our economy.So look I think overall this is good. It's great to see it here now. It's taken a few years to get to this point but I'm encouraged by it and I would encourage anyone with an interest in this area to submit on that and to get involved in the select committee process so that we can ensure this piece of legislation comes out in the best possible form to provide a most advantageous platform for our existing organic industry and those who may also wish to join it to help us get through this impact of COVID-19.I'd also just like to finish by encouraging the Government to consider the importance of the food production industries in New Zealand and especially in relation to the impetus and support that might provide to the economy in these trying times and therefore what potential impositions or changes to regulations might be imposed on them over the coming months. Agriculture is going to stand up and support this country yet again and this bill will help to play a little part in that. So I commend it to the House.