“I’m not surprised to see the significance of biosecurity flagged again by industry and it has been my number one priority since becoming a minister,” Guy said.
'I’m not surprised to see the significance of biosecurity flagged again by industry and it has been my number one priority since becoming a minister.'
“This year saw the start of a new era of biosecurity co-operation with the first government-industry agreement (GIA) deed signed between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Kiwifruit Vine Health, with other industries gearing up to sign.
“Ultimately the best biosecurity system for New Zealand will be one where MPI works in partnership with primary industries on a collaborative approach to preparedness and response so that industry expertise is harnessed to achieve the outcomes needed.
“That’s what we’re doing,” he said.
The ministry’s 2014 budget had increased by more than $17 million with a focus on strengthening biosecurity and food safety systems.
“We are also beefing up the border with new staff, more dog detector teams, and new x-ray machines,” Guy said.
In the last 15 months a strong emphasis had been put on preparing for the unlikely event of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak with MPI developing a 16-component project to deliver greater readiness and response.
“Progress is being made with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Government to co-operate and work together on preparedness for the disease.
“Under this programme, a team of NZ vets has also just left for Nepal to undertake field training on the diagnosis and management of FMD.
“We have just signed an agreement to form an international animal health emergency reserve team with Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK and USA.
"This arrangement provides a framework for competent personnel to be shared between these countries during an animal health emergency.
“Of course, the general election is just around the corner and this Agenda highlights that industry leaders are wary of how the election result may impact on their economic momentum.
"As this independent report states, Election 2014 is the most significant in decades for the primary sector,” Guy said.
