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The Government has joined the West Coast region to launch the Tai Poutini West Coast Economic Development Action Plan in Hokitika today.

The Action Plan identifies five priorities for lifting economic growth - better economic development support, growing the West Coast visitor economy, making it easier to invest and do business, supporting economic diversification, and improving connectivity and infrastructure.

New regulations gazetted today will help revolutionise the way New Zealand’s commercial fisheries are managed and monitored, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

The regulations require the use of geospatial position reporting (GPR), e-logbooks, and cameras across the commercial fishing industry and are being rolled out from 1 October this year.

Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have announced $17.7 million in funding over the next two years for the Regional Growth Programme as part of Budget 2017.

This is further to the $50 million announced by Prime Minster Bill English in Hawkes Bay today to help the most at-risk young people in regional New Zealand into sustained employment, a key part of the Government’s plan to support the regions.

New changes to update kiwifruit regulations and help future-proof the industry will come into force on 1 August 2017, Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy has announced today.

“These changes were announced last year and will help ensure the industry is best structured for future growth,” says Mr Guy.

New amendments to the Kiwifruit Export Regulations will:

A new Threat Management Plan released today will help protect endangered New Zealand sea lions, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry say.

The New Zealand sea lion/rāpoka Threat Management Plan sets out a five-year programme of engagement, targeted research, direct mitigation, and regular monitoring at all known breeding sites.

The first export consignments of chilled meat have left New Zealand shores bound for China as part of a six month trial, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today.

“The air-freighted consignments from Alliance Group and Greenlea Premier Meats mark a significant step towards enabling permanent access for New Zealand chilled meat to China,” says Mr Guy. 

Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have today launched the latest investor guides to New Zealand’s Food and Beverage Industry, showing a strong and diversified sector.

The guides contain analysis of trends and opportunities within the industry which can be used to attract investment, assist with business strategy and guide government policy.

Continued low scallop levels at the top of the South Island have forced a further temporary closure of the Southern Scallop fishery SCA 7, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today.

The 2017/18 season closure affects scallop fisheries in Golden Bay, Tasman Bay and the Marlborough Sounds. It also includes the neighbouring Port Underwood area.

Communications Minister Simon Bridges and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have announced $1.6 million funding for two workstreams to promote the uptake of digital technology across Canterbury and to take advantage of new value-add market opportunities.

The Ministers are in Canterbury today to co-launch the refresh of the Canterbury Regional Economic Development Strategy. 

Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and other Government Ministers are in Christchurch today to co-launch the refresh of the Canterbury Regional Economic Development Strategy. 

The strategy aims to position the region so that economic growth can continue off the back of earthquake recovery and the rebuild to drive economic activity and employment.

“Since the 2010 earthquake, Government investment in Canterbury has been significant,” Mr Bridges says.

Border sector Ministers have welcomed a new report by the Office of the Auditor-General published today on the use of information at New Zealand’s ports, and say their agencies will continue to work closely to protect our borders.

“This is a positive report which recognises good collaboration between the three border agencies. It finds there are strong relationships and effective processing of passengers,” says Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse.

China has approved formal access for New Zealand bovine blood products into the Chinese market, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today.

Access has been approved by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) for New Zealand premises to export bovine blood products, such as bovine protein and serum, to China.  This follows successful negotiations by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

A trial project to recharge the Makauri aquifer near Gisborne and deliver an economic boost to the region has been officially started by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today.

“This aquifer is crucial to the local economy but water availability is a major issue. Lack of water is holding back the further development of arable and horticultural industries which would mean more jobs and exports,” says Mr Guy.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has congratulated the National Fieldays Society for another successful event at Mystery Creek in Waikato.

“This year’s Fieldays was another success thanks to hard work from Peter Nation and his team, but also in part due to the positive outlook for the primary sector,” says Mr Guy.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says the primary sector is forecast for a bumper year ahead after some challenging past seasons of wet conditions, earthquakes, cyclones, and volatile global commodity prices.

Mr Guy’s comments come as the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) releases its latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) at the National Fieldays.

Strong demand from key markets is driving up export growth in forestry products, Associate Primary Industries Minister Louise Upston says.

The latest Ministry for Primary Industries’ Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) shows strong growth in the forestry sector.

“Forestry exports are expected to grow 6.4 per cent to $5.5 billion in 2017, before increasing further to $6.3 billion by 2021 as increased volumes of wood become available for harvest,” Ms Upston says.

A proposed National Environmental Standard for Marine Aquaculture to make re-consenting existing marine farms more consistent and efficient has been released today by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have committed another joint funding boost to rural mental health.

The Ministers committed $500,000 for Rural Mental Wellness at the opening of the Fieldays Rural Health Hub earlier today.

It will go towards 20 workshops for rural health professionals treating people at risk of suicide, continued support for the rural Clinical Champions and Medical Director, as well as support aimed at younger rural workers.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Associate Minister Louise Upston have tonight celebrated the 1000^th Sustainable Farming Fund project, and awarded two Emerging Leaders scholarships at an event kicking off National Fieldays.

“The Sustainable Farming Fund supports the primary sector’s own forward thinking and kiwi ingenuity - which in turn helps keeps New Zealand ahead of the game,” says Mr Guy. 

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Associate Minister Louise Upston have tonight celebrated the 1000th Sustainable Farming Fund project, and awarded two Emerging Leaders scholarships at an event kicking off National Fieldays.

“The Sustainable Farming Fund supports the primary sector’s own forward thinking and kiwi ingenuity - which in turn helps keeps New Zealand ahead of the game,” says Mr Guy. 

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith have tonight launched the Primary Sector Science Roadmap at the National Fieldays.

Mr Guy says science will be a key driver in lifting overall primary sector exports to the target of $64 billion by 2025.

“From climate change, to changing consumer preferences, to a greater emphasis on issues like traceability and provenance, science and technology have an important role to play in ensuring our primary industries remain globally competitive,” says Mr Guy.

The Government has today announced extra grants to help Bay of Plenty farmers and growers impacted by April’s storms and floods.

Affected farmers and growers can apply for contributions from the new $200,000 Primary Industries Bay of Plenty Flood Recovery Grant to help with essential infrastructure repair as they continue to get their businesses up and running.

Tonight’s event is one of the best demonstrations possible of farmers caring for their land and wanting to leave it in a better state for future generations.

It’s an event I’m proud to support and champion loudly to as many New Zealanders as possible.

This year has seen tensions rise between farmers and your critics and this is likely to continue as we get closer to the election. Tonight I want to say a few words about how we can tackle this divide and tell our story.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Associate Minister Louise Upston have announced $3.3 million in new funding for eight climate change research projects in the agriculture, horticulture and forestry sectors.

The research projects were approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries under its Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change (SLMACC) research programme.

“This funding plays an important part in helping our primary industries prepare for the future challenges of climate change,” says Mr Guy.