Biosecurity tops priorities for agribusiness leaders - report
Biosecurity remains the top priority for agribusiness leaders, according to KPMG’s 2025 Agribusiness Agenda released last week.
The number of biosecurity officers and detector dogs slashed since National took office poses a serious threat to New Zealand's horticulture and agriculture industries, says Labour's biosecurity spokesperson Damien O'Connor.
Information obtained by O'Connor in answers to written parliamentary questions reveals the Government has cut 91 biosecurity officers since 2008, and the number of dogs on active sniffer duty at Auckland Airport has dropped from 20 to 13 over the same period.
"National is putting our exporting industry at risk with its short-sighted decisions," O'Connor says.
"Making these kinds of cuts when the number of international visitors to New Zealand has increased by more than 140,000 since 2009 is just crazy.
"We already know about the absence of dogs at Wellington Airport. Now it appears the Government has no intention of reversing the decline of detector dog numbers. Just one dog graduated from the National Training Centre last year compared to 15 in 2008.
"What's also disturbing is that the Biosecurity Minister David Carter sat on these figures for more than a week – during the Queensland fruit fly quarantine. Clearly he wanted to avoid further criticism at time of intense public scrutiny and concern.
"The ministry now says it will hire 40 new staff an admission the cuts have gone too far.
"The new figures will come as a shock to orchardists and farmers who rely on an effective biosecurity system to protect their livelihoods and export ability. Under National, our protections are being systematically run down. This is a grave concern," O'Connor says.
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
OPINION: Spare a thought for the arable farmer, squeezed on one side by soft global prices and on the other…
OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…