In other markets the most urgent needs are still new outlets for New Zealand products and improved conditions of access where restricted sales are already being made. These objectives will be actively pursued through the vigorous promotion of New Zealand's commodities and in both bilateral and multilateral negotiations.

A Meat Amendment Bill will be submitted for your consideration, following the further study of the measure introduced last year. Legislation is being drafted to enable breeders and selectors of plants to gain legal protection for new varieties.

The fishing industry last year established new records in its total catch and in its export earnings. My Government is convinced of the scope for further expansion and development. It will submit for your consideration a Bill to authorise the leasing of areas of the seabed for the farming of fish and shellfish.

Legislation in the financial field will include a consolidation of the Estate and Gift Duties Act. This measure, together with the Land and Income Tax legislation, will provide an opportunity for implementing many of my Government's decisions on the report of the Taxation Review Committee.

A Bill will be introduced to authorise New Zealand's participation in the system of special drawing rights recently adopted by the International Monetary Fund.

Estimates of expenditure for the coming year, with related financial proposals, will be placed before you in due course.

In the field of industrial development my Government attaches special importance to the exploitation of New Zealand's indigenous minerals and fuels. It continues to give active encouragement to the search for new deposits of economic value and it welcomes the recent quickening in the pace of exploration and investigation.

A Bill will be submitted to bring the mining legislation more into keeping with current requirements. Provisions relating to the use of water for mining, and also for irrigation, will be incorporated in an amendment to the Water and Soil Conservation Act.

In order that the best value may be obtained from Kapuni natural gas, legislation will be introduced to extend the existing gas franchise areas and to permit gas to be supplied to new housing districts which cannot be serviced at present.

A consolidation of the legislation administered by the New Zealand Electricity Department will be submitted for your consideration.

My Ministers are fully conscious of the vital importance of efficient transport services for New Zealand's export trade and for its expanding local industries. They are now reviewing the administrative arrangements which will best promote the proper co-ordination of the transport system and the changes in the law that may be required for this purpose.

My Government regrets that the British Shipping Lines should have postponed a decision on the opening of a container shipping service to New Zealand. In the circumstances it has decided that there should be an independent inquiry into the economic significance of such a service. An amendment to the Customs Act will be introduced in order to facilitate the entry and clearance of cargo imported and exported in containers.

The modernisation of the railway system is well advanced and has already achieved greater efficiency and economy, with a marked improvement in freight services. In the field of civil aviation the Queenstown Airport is being developed and other southern aerodromes are being improved to handle the larger planes which are now needed for the increased tourist traffic.

My Government has also decided to build a new jet runway in Rarotonga. It is confident that this will prove its value in the earning of overseas funds through tourism and through the operations of Air New Zealand. It should also be of major benefit to the economy of the Cook Islands.