SpeechHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I too would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for your service to the nation and to put on the record my admiration for the way in which you've always conducted yourself and the portfolios that you've had responsibility for and in particular the work that you've done in the space that I am quite passionate about and that's caregivers and fostering children. So thank you—thank you very much Madam Deputy Speaker.It's quite an interesting moment for me to stand and to make a small contribution on this Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill (No 3) and I say so because right now firstly New Zealand First has been an absolute winner in having Mark Patterson join our ranks not just as an MP but as our rural spokesperson on all matters rural and farming. I just want to acknowledge Mark for the way in which he's steered New Zealand First's interests through the passage of this legislation—and not just New Zealand First's interests those of our party but those of the farming community in general. Mark is a true champion for the rural sector rural communities and we in New Zealand First are that much stronger for having him on board.For my part the dairy industry isn't actually that new to me. As a foster child who was taken in by Gordon and Sylvia Thorburn in Pahīatua I came to know about dairy farming then because Gordon was the company secretary of the amalgamated dairy company of Pahīatua. He built that company up. In the time that I was at school and living with that family for five years I watched him—I just thought he was crazy. He got up at like 4.30 5 o'clock in the morning he worked at home he did his chores and things that had to be done he was gone and he was in the office in Pahīatua at 6 in the morning. My foster mum Sylvia Thorburn worked as his personal assistant. She sort of split her time: time at home looking after us kids and doing things and then time in the office with Dad. In his time there Gordon amalgamated every dairy company from what became South Wairarapa all the way through the Wairarapa up into the north up to Woodville and then he continued on. He created for his directors and for his shareholders the Tui Dairy Company. Tui went on and I recall coming here to Parliament and one of the phone calls that I got from my foster father at the time that I was sworn in as an MP made junior Government whip was serving alongside of the Hon David Carter in those days. He made a phone call firstly to tell me he was very proud that I had made it into Parliament but secondly to give me some advice. He talked a little about Jim Bolger at that time because Jim had been in his time a Minister for I think labour relations and Gordon had had a lot to do with Jim Bolger back then had done trade missions for him. He said to me One thing you should always avoid Ron is creating monopolies. Don't ever allow a monopoly to be created." Well of course we had the legislation to put through in that time which saw the merging of Kiwi Cooperative Dairies and New Zealand Dairy Group (NZDG). In around that time also I had been appointed by the Māori Land Court to be a director on the Pouakani 2 Trust which had large shareholdings with NZDG. Henry van der Heyden was the chair at the time and I got to learn and see firsthand how the dairy industry was now operating quite differently from when I was at school and seeing it through the actions of my foster father. This monopoly thing played on my mind quite a bit and we went ahead with the legislation that allowed Kiwi and NZDG to merge. It was controversial Minister Carter knows in some sectors but we went through with that.One of the things that gave me comfort was the open entry provision clauses and the clauses in there that actually prevented Fonterra acting like what Gordon Thorburn didn't want to see. That allowed other milk processors to be established; it was guaranteed that they could have supply of milk so that they could. The funny thing was fast forwarding a few years I ended up as the deputy chairman of the Wairarapa Moana Incorporation (WMI) taking advantage of that very clause when we set up Miraka. We could not have set up Miraka without the guaranteed supply of milk from Fonterra. We had brought in a whole bunch of shareholders—Māori; we had a Vietnamese shareholder 20 percent shareholding—and we knew we could get up and running but the issue was around absolute assurance that we could get the milk that we needed. This legislation as it was guaranteed that. We had seen some companies like Tātua a superb company led in those days I think by John Luxton—I'm not sure if he was the chairman but he was definitely the director of Tātua at that time. They found a niche in the market that Fonterra was not interested in and they became very successful. In fact we watched them and thought "Crikey the shareholders of Tātua are getting far better pay-outs than Fonterra." and it's because they found a better way of operating. They weren't just focused on the bulk supply of cheese the bulk supply of milk powder; they went in for niche products. We had watched Westland and we made our decision at WMI to go ahead and have a crack at building our milk. Well time's moved on; Miraka is successful. Time has moved on and the need for the open entry provision is now passed. We do take on board the comments of the Hon Damien O'Connor and other speakers on the National Party side that there's a high level of trust now being put in Fonterra. It does now behove them to demonstrate that they are an honourable and ethical corporate entity and that they will behave appropriately—Parliament is entrusting them. I think what is great is that having had those warning signals put into the Hansard for the future should there ever be a question because we all know that things move and change we'll all be gone from this House—well not all of us; some of these young ones will still be here—Hon Member: You and I won't be.Hon RON MARK: We'll be gone. Some of us will be gone and we'll be watching on telly. I have no doubt that 10 years from now with different people leading Fonterra there could well be a shift in culture and a shift in attitude. The words that have been expressed here today by both the Opposition and by the Government members are a clear warning and an indicator to Fonterra: please honour Parliament's intent. You've been entrusted; please do not repeat the behaviours that some of us have seen in the past.Cooperative models are wonderful. You look at kiwifruit and you look at the dairy industry and I go right back to the days of the amalgamated dairy company and Tui Dairy Company—they're wonderful and they're wonderfully successful. But they can fall apart. I look at the wool sector and I worry as to how that's going to be put back on its feet again. But Parliament's trusting you Fonterra; Parliament is now leaving it in your hands. I want to also endorse the words of particularly the National Party spokespeople who said "Let this point now be the point from which we parliamentarians back off and start treating the rural sector with respect." People are saying that the rural sector are the backbone of our economy; they have always been the backbone of the New Zealand economy and they are the ones who will carry us through the COVID recovery period and bring us out the other end to a higher level of prosperity. Respect them."