Speech to NZ Biosecurity Institute Conference

I would like to acknowledge local iwi for your warm welcome. I would also like to thank Craig Davey for inviting me to speak at your conference.

Thank you for your contribution to biosecurity in this country – your Institute does an important job. Of my four portfolios, biosecurity is the most critical. It is paramount in determining New Zealand’s economic well-being.

There are a number of specific issues I will address this morning – but to start, I want to give you a broad perspective of this Government’s plans to lift New Zealand’s economy.

Our principle economic goal is to deliver greater prosperity, security and opportunity to all New Zealanders.

If we don’t bring about this transformation to the economy and have our internationally competitive sectors growing strongly, the outlook is all too bleak – particularly for our talented, qualified and highly mobile young New Zealanders.

The Government has embarked on a challenging economic agenda, based around a six-point plan to boost growth and create high value jobs over the next three to five years. We are determined to:

• Support better science, innovation and trade

• Remove red tape and unnecessary regulation

• Deliver better, smarter public services

• Invest in productive infrastructure

• Lift education and skills, and

• Create a growth-enhancing tax system.

Put simply, New Zealand needs businesses to export more and gain stronger international connections.

Today’s current climate offers great opportunity for New Zealand’s primary sectors.

We are enjoying an era of buoyancy, with farmer confidence as high as it’s been in recent decades.

Our country’s future, like its past, will continue to rely heavily on primary production.

We, as a Government, understand and appreciate this.

But the success of our primary industries relies on a critical lynchpin – biosecurity.

We have arguably the most robust biosecurity system in the world because we need a biosecurity system that protects the things we value most in New Zealand.

Some believe that biosecurity begins and ends at the border, when in fact the system works on three fronts: working overseas to stop travellers and importers from bringing pests here; working at the border to identify pests that do arrive; and working to find, manage or eliminate pests that have established here.

This Government is making the biosecurity system more effective and efficient by ensuring that resources are used when, and where, they are most needed.

To do this, MAF is seeking greater industry and farmer involvement in biosecurity preparedness and response activities.

At the same time, MAF will continue to look at ways that it can make importers take more responsibility for managing any biosecurity risks that their work creates.

To allow for these changes, an amendment to the Biosecurity Act is currently making its way through the Parliamentary process.

Included in this is the Government/Industry Agreement initiative (GIA). This is about achieving better biosecurity for New Zealand through industry and government sharing knowledge, decisions and costs, on how to deal with incursions of harmful pests and diseases.

In discussion with industry, the Government has agreed to meet a minimum cost share of 50 percent for any priority readiness and response programmes.

I have taken this decision to demonstrate the Government’s willingness to work in partnership with industry to ensure New Zealand has the best biosecurity system possible.

GIAs recognise that, by working together, we can harness greater capability and capacity than either party can, by working alone. While not a formal government/industry agreement, the response to the kiwifruit disease Psa was a very good example of this.

As I’ve mentioned, one of the three fronts of biosecurity is border security.

While some like to talk about restricting imports to guard against biosecurity risk, this is not an option for a country that argues so passionately around the world for freer trade access, unless a biosecurity risk is obvious.

And it’s worth noting, much of what we export could not be produced without imported products that we accept into New Zealand – which are then available to New Zealanders without the additional cost of import tariffs.

The Biosecurity Amendment Bill will allow the Government to change the way that it operates and manages risk at the border to ensure that harmful organisms are kept out of New Zealand, while facilitating trade.

I consider that these changes to the way MAF works at the border will strengthen security, while also improving efficiency.

In addition to the changes to readiness and response, changes are also being made to the way that established pests are managed in New Zealand.

As you well know, pests and weeds are a huge problem for New Zealand.

More than half our national defensive expenditure against pests and weeds takes place on farms, in commercial forests, and by ordinary New Zealanders dealing with pests and weeds at home.

The changes being made to the Biosecurity Act will improve New Zealand’s pest management system by increasing cooperation, sharing costs, and encouraging alignment amongst all parties involved.

One significant change being made is the ‘good neighbour’ rule. To ensure that the Crown is paying its fair share towards pest control, the Crown will now be required to comply with regional pest management plans where the spread of pests from Crown land is causing costs to other private landowners.

This ensures that everyone, including Crown agencies, must play by the same rules when it comes to managing pests. At the same time, I am expecting greater scrutiny by the Crown of regional pest management initiatives to ensure they are delivering good value for all landowners.

We all know that biosecurity must be a collaborative effort – everyone has a role to play in keeping out unwanted pests and diseases, and containing or eradicating those that establish here.

I want to close by speaking briefly about the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

As this mammoth event comes closer, we must remember that this is an opportunity to showcase our world-class biosecurity system.

The arrival of 85,000 visitors in September presents a challenge, but one that I know we must – and will – be fully prepared for.

Everyone in this room realises that biosecurity plays a crucial role in protecting the things we value most in New Zealand.

Rest assured, the National-led Government also realises this – and appreciates the work that you are all doing.

I hope that as a body, you will agree the Government is making good progress on a number of important fronts, and that there is a clear plan for the future.

I deal with many industry groups and organisations and I want to thank you for bringing a sensible and practical approach to the issues we collectively face.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today – and I wish you all the best for your conference.