Urgent Debates Declined — Dairy Industry—Milk Price Forecast

I have received a letter from Richard Prosser seeking—[Interruption] Order! I am very, very reluctant to ask members to leave early—to debate under Standing Order 389 the 60c downward revision by Fonterra in the milk price forecast from $5.30 per kilogram of milk solids to $4.70. In order for an urgent debate to be held there must be a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility. There is no ministerial responsibility for Fonterra’s—[Interruption] Order! I will continue this ruling. If there is an interjection from any person, that person will be leaving the Chamber. There is no ministerial responsibility for Fonterra’s reduction in its forecast farm-gate milk price for the 2014-15 season. Although Ministers may have acknowledged a potential impact, there has been no ministerial decision that reveals a new development of sufficient importance in itself to warrant a debate being held today. An urgent debate is a means of debating something that has occurred for which the Government is responsible. It is a not a means of debating actions that the Government may or may not take in the future. The application is therefore declined.