Displaying items by tag: Damien O'Connor

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor is defending the nature and makeup of the new Primary Sector Council.

The Government has announced a comprehensive review of dairy industry legislation.

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says the previous Government took a hands-off approach to biosecurity.

The Government has set up a new Primary Sector Council to provide “independent strategic advice”, says Minister of Agriculture and Rural Communities Damien O’Connor.

Minister of Agriculture and Biosecurity Damien O’Connor has hit out at the NAIT system and its manager OSPRI.

New Zealand’s umbrella rural health organisation will move to shut down if it does not receive government funding next week.

‘It was the only way forward,’ says the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, on the decision to slaughter more than 22,000 cows with M. bovis. 

Ag Minister Damien O’Connor says while, on paper, the NAIT system is very good, he blames the present low level of farmer compliance on the previous government which he says ignored warnings about this issue. 

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will begin a cull of 22,332 cattle on all properties infected with Mycoplasma bovis after scientific testing and tracing confirmed the disease was not endemic.

Despite all the damage inflicted on the dairy sector by ex-cyclone Gita, the Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor thinks farmers got off lightly.