Fat to cut
OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an 8-hour marathon hearing.
Twelve new frontline border staff will help New Zealand's biosecurity defences stay strong, says MPI.
The new staff will receive their quarantine inspector warrants at a ceremony today in Christchurch.
The graduation follows the warranting of 43 new inspectors in December and a recent announcement by Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy that MPI will recruit 30 new quarantine inspectors this year.
"The new inspectors and upcoming recruitment programme will ensure that the biosecurity frontline remains fully staffed and isn't affected by normal resignations and retirement," says Steve Gilbert, MPI director, border clearance services.
"Biosecurity is vitally important to New Zealand and its primary industries."
The warranting ceremony follows more than three months of intensive training for the new recruits. The warrants will allow them to exercise a range of powers under the Biosecurity Act 1993 to check passengers and goods for biosecurity risk items.
Two of the new inspectors will be based in Wellington, one in Queenstown and remainder in Christchurch. Two of the 12 will undergo further training as detector dog handlers.
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.
Listed Canterbury milk processor Synlait’s shares have been placed in a trading halt.
OPINION: Even before the National-led coalition came into power, India was very much at the fore of its trade agenda.
A step-by-step guide helping farmers through the process of creating a Freshwater Farm Plan (FWFP) has been launched by FarmIQ.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…
OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…