Leary IngridINGRID LEARY (Labour—Taieri): Thank you. I'd just like to acknowledge the collegiate discussion across the House in relation to this bill which as the previous speaker said is very much a coming of age for one of our great institutions that serves all New Zealanders in several respects actually not only in terms of the investment capital that it provides but also in securing New Zealand's international reputation as a transparent stable and open place to do business that is good for investment.It's a great thing that we are marking this coming of age of a fund that was originally established in 2001. Just in case you're wondering the music du jour at the time was Space Oddity—quite a bit of time has passed. The fund was of course the brainchild of that fantastic man Sir Michael Cullen who came from down my ways. In fact he was the MP for St Kilda our area with our good Scottish heritage which is known for financial acumen and—some would say—prudence. I think this was very much reflected in his vision and the prudence with which the original legislation was limited to be able to make sure that the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation did not take unmitigated risks while they were feeling their way in terms of investing for New Zealanders. So at that point in time in 2001 the fund was very much about exposing the fund to investments being able to take an incremental approach and grow the fund in a sure-footed and secure way to build the trust and credibility and that is exactly what's happened.Fast forward to 2024 and we have the new bill now which does seek to add a controlling interest element. I would like to commend both Grant Robertson the previous Minister of Finance and also the Minister of Finance Hon Nicola Willis for shepherding this through. Really they have been shepherding this on behalf of this House which is in great agreement about the fact that the fund should be able to have controlling interests. That door was opened a little bit in 2015 when there was a partial removal of the restrictions which allowed the Guardians to create and control fund investment vehicles but it wasn't to the extent that we have today.Some of the reasons have been outlined by the Minister; this is about being able to have direct investment into a wide range of investments. I would actually say that not opening this possibility up for our country at this point in time would pose risks for two reasons. One is the risk of having to potentially change the age of superannuation—we on this side of the House would not want to see that move entitlement move. We have been very clear about that. Prior to the last campaign there were comments from the other side of the House from the National Party about potentially raising the age of entitlement 67 to be able to manage the ageing population and the pressures on it. By doing this and allowing the Guardians to be able to take a controlling interest to grow the fund appropriately hopefully we can put paid to that but also actually to enable the capital for investments in our country to come from domestic markets. We do not want to see reliance on foreign investment for some of our strategic assets. Again this mitigates to a degree the risk of that. It also enables international competition in New Zealand to be able to be on a level playing field with other countries that we compare ourselves to. It really enables us to build resilience all over in terms of the stability of the market the timing and the more interdependent global economy that we find ourselves in now compared to back in the days of 2001 when Space Oddity was playing on the probably transistor radio.As has been referred to again by the Minister the risks around doing this have been thought through very carefully and mitigated The requirements mean that the Guardians will not be treated as a public entity will not be required to perform the types of reporting that public entities are. Also there is a lot of transparency and accountability around the governance particularly in terms of the statement of investment policy standards and procedures where the details of the governance framework for the implementation and operation of controlled entities will be laid out. So once again that speaks to New Zealand's very high—usually number one; sometimes number two—placing by Transparency International around how we do business what our money flows are the ability of not only New Zealanders to trust the fund but also for foreign investors to know that New Zealand is a safe and stable place to do business. We need those governance frameworks in place. That has been thought through and looked at very carefully I understand by the Finance and Expenditure Committee.We've heard that along with the statutory safeguards there is an additional one: a 10-year review. I know Sir Michael Cullen would be very pleased to see that in the legislation just to provide that oversight again to make sure that this is travelling slowly and sure-footedly in the right direction.So I'd like to thank those who did submit to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. I think this legislation if I'm right did come up during the previous Parliament but has been shepherded through by various MPs from both Parliaments I think. Those who submitted gave very thoughtful submissions. It is a time-consuming thing to do and I know that their submissions were treated seriously and that they contributed to the confidence with which this House is able to move ahead.I don't think there's much more left to say. We are in agreement. So I'll end my contribution there and say this is a good piece of legislation. I feel very honoured and privileged to stand in this House with my whakapapa to the great Sir Michael Cullen and also due to the fact that the Hon Grant Robertson who put so much work into this comes from Dunedin. With that I commend it to the House.