Saving the Mighty Kauri

Every Kiwi would agree that kauri is a treasured species that must be protected for future generations.

This made our recent pledge of $4.7 million to help save kauri threatened by a disease known as ‘kauri dieback’ all the more significant.

The total fund for the future management of kauri dieback now stands at $9.8 million, thanks in part to the support of several regional councils working closely with government agencies and Maori to combat the threat.

The disease is attacking kauri trees in the upper North Island and on Great Barrier Island. It is a serious biosecurity threat to kauri which, as New Zealanders, we are duty-bound to protect.

Our ancient kauri forests are a really important part of our ecosystem, as well as being part of our heritage. This funding will help us to maintain them into the future.

PGP Open For Business

On September 16th, I hosted a function at Parliament for around 100 people to officially launch the Primary Growth Partnership.

This major initiative, announced in the Budget, will see up to $140 million a year injected into primary sector growth and innovation. This is a huge investment for a country of our size, and it will bring huge benefits.

The Prime Minister and Bill Falconer, who will chair the Investment Advisory Panel, also spoke and both of them are very excited about the opportunities that PGP will bring to the primary sector.

Main players across the entire primary sector were at the function and people I spoke to were looking forward to getting involved in PGP.

This is the key to the success of the Primary Growth Partnership. It’s all about industry involvement; the PGP is truly a 50/50 partnership.

Since May, a lot of work has gone into developing the criteria for deciding the projects that will receive PGP funding, and the six-member Investment Advisory Panel is now up and running.

Bill Falconer is joined on the panel by John Brakenridge, Dr Kevin Marshall, Colin McKenzie, Joanna Perry and Jamie Tuuta. It’s great to have such an experienced team.

The Primary Growth Partnership is now open for business and I anticipate many fascinating and innovative ideas coming forward.

Smarter Borders

John Key and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently announced plans to make it easier to travel across the Tasman. This, of course, has major implications for biosecurity – in fact, if it didn’t, you could almost make trans-Tasman travel a domestic experience.

But New Zealand takes biosecurity very seriously because it is critical to our reputation and economy. A major breach of biosecurity would affect us all and this is why we need to be constantly reviewing the way we do things at the border. We can’t just accept that what we have now is the best we can do.

The trans-Tasman travel package includes measures that will deliver a better, smarter, and more efficient biosecurity system at our border.

The changes cover a new express arrivals lane for travellers identified as low biosecurity risk, a pilot of assessing/x-raying bags during flight time to allow quicker processing on arrival for passengers not carrying risk goods, and an increase in the instant biosecurity infringement fine, from $200 to $400.

Research done by MAF Biosecurity New Zealand shows that not all bags pose an equal level of biosecurity risk, with the majority presenting little or no risk and only 4% containing risk goods.

Don’t get me wrong, obviously we would prefer not to find any risk goods – but the reality is we need to deliver a smarter and more efficient biosecurity system.

You will notice changes to our biosecurity screening by the end of March next year – but don’t worry, one thing that won’t change is that our busy beagles will still be hard at work sniffing out any trouble.

Trip to Brussels and the UK

I’ve recently returned from a 10-day trip to Brussels and the United Kingdom. While it was great to escape the winter gloom here in New Zealand, there wasn’t much time to appreciate the European summer as I had a hectic programme of meetings with politicians, officials, farmers and major buyers of New Zealand goods.

Highlights of the trip included a lengthy meeting that Fonterra Chair Henry van der Heyden and I had with the EU Commissioner of Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel.

We covered a wide range of issues from subsidies and New Zealand’s experience of agricultural reform in the 1980s, to climate change and the prospects of resurrecting the Doha round.

I also had the opportunity to meet with my UK counterpart, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn, and Shadow Minister Nick Herbert.

In many ways, the standout event was the chance to attend the Royal Show and to host a New Zealand function there. The Show has been an iconic event on the British rural calendar, but sadly this year was its last.

Nonetheless, it was great to be able to see a cross-section of British agriculture, to meet many farmers and to promote New Zealand agriculture to a wide range of interests.

While much of New Zealand’s focus in recent times has been on developing new markets in Asia, this trip reinforced just how important our long-standing relationship with Europe, and particularly the UK, is. Although we have occasional differences of opinion, we face many of the same challenges and much can be gained from working together.

The trip also demonstrated beyond doubt the importance of integrity of the New Zealand brand. Repeatedly it was made clear to me that European consumers expect New Zealand primary produce to meet the highest standards of sustainability, animal welfare and food safety.

It is a simple equation - if we don’t continue to meet and exceed these expectations, we will lose market share. This is the challenge facing every New Zealand farmer and grower. And it is certainly my focus as the Minister of Agriculture.

Meat: The Future

Twice this year I’ve gone in search of some great tasting lamb and beef – first as a judge at the Glammies (Golden Lamb Awards) and then as a judge of the best steak at the Steak of Origin competition.

It’s not hard to guess that I enjoy eating Kiwi beef and lamb. It also explains my real interest in the recent launch of “Meat: the Future”, a MAF study that looks at the opportunities and challenges facing our meat industry.

The study points to a positive future for the sector – as long as it recognises that it needs to change. As I said at the launch, the status quo cannot remain for the industry.

It was good to see the study shows some optimism; two-thirds of those surveyed agreed that the meat sector would be a good investment in 15 years’ time.

Following the launch, I met with senior meat sector representatives to generate debate within the industry about where it heads from here.

Discussion was robust and productive. It is hopefully only the beginning of a process by which the meat industry – processors, farmers and other stakeholders – will work together to deliver higher returns to the sector.

My challenge to everyone involved is to think about where you want this industry to be in 10 to 15 years’ time. Solutions need to be driven by the sector, for the sector.

Toasting the Fieldays

I can’t let mid-year go by without reflecting on one of the most important events in the agricultural calendar – the National Fieldays at Mystery Creek.

The healthy relationship between farmers and Government was clearly evident on the day the Prime Minister and I attended Fieldays. Everyone we met on that wet Wednesday was welcoming and positive.

One reason for the vote of confidence was the Primary Growth Partnership initiative I announced on Budget Day.

PGP will deliver significant economic growth and sustainability across the primary sector. Continued economic growth in the primary sector is especially important in these tough economic times, and so is adaptability and resilience.

Hamilton, home of the Fieldays, is also the centre of dairy farming. The pressure the dairy sector is currently under was apparent, but so was farmer resilience.

With the reduced payout and drop in land prices, some in the dairying sector are struggling, but farmers I met over the day remained optimistic about the future.

Good farmers will refocus in times like these. Spending will be at a minimum.

According to Fieldays’ organisers, there was a shift in spending from large capital expenditure to maintenance. Sales weren’t as high as last year but the majority of exhibitors’ expectations were exceeded. So, if Fieldays is a yard stick for the market we should be cautiously optimistic and confident our sensible and business-driven farmers will lead New Zealand’s recovery.

Budget focus on innovation for agriculture

The primary sector is where this country's natural advantage lies.

As the global population increases, the world must produce more food. There are reports that by 2060 the world will need to produce twice as much food from less land. Ultimately, much of this production increase will have to come from smarter technologies and efficiencies in farming.

We cannot rely on research and development of previous decades.

Put simply, key to maintaining our status as market leaders in agriculture is continued innovation – this is something we must never take for granted.

It is the reason National promised substantially more money for primary sector innovation and why we have delivered it with Budget 2009.

We are boosting growth and innovation in the primary sectors through the funding of the Primary Growth Partnership (PGP).

PGP is a government-industry partnership that will see investment in significant programmes of research and innovation in New Zealand’s primary and food sectors, including forestry.

In the first four years of the Primary Growth Partnership alone, the Government will make $190 million available alongside matching industry investment. From 2013, the partnership will see the Government investing $70 million annually in primary sector innovation.

The scope of the Primary Growth Partnership initiative includes pastoral and arable production; horticulture; seafood; forestry and wood products; and food processing.

This government is here to help, not to hobble industry. We will remove obstacles rather than create them and provide leadership to ensure the primary sector's success and development in the future.

The primary sector is the engine room of our economy and the Primary Growth Partnership will be an important incentive in helping Government and industry to lead New Zealand out of recession.