Guy Nathan: Urgent Debates — Dairy Products Whey Protein—Response to Contamination IncidentText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGuy Nathan: Urgent Debates — Dairy Products Whey Protein—Response to Contamination Incident[Sitting date: 06 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12338. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister for Primary Industries):Thanks for the opportunity to make some comments this afternoon in what is a very important debate. It is important because of health and safety and food security. It is also important for our exports and overall our economy.I think it is important to remind everyone in the House that our primary sector exports make up about 72 percent of our total merchandise exports and are indeed a crucial part of the New Zealand economy. As a small country of around 4.5 million people food production is hugely important to us. We feed about 40 million people and we export to almost 200 countries around the world. We have been renowned for our food production and indeed over about a century we have been exporting some of the finest food products to all of these different parts of the planet. Of course that is underpinned by our high-quality food safety systems biosecurity animal welfare and indeed environmental management. They all form a part of underpinning our exports to almost 200 countries around the world.Importantly when you get out from New Zealand—and I have been lucky enough to go on a couple of trade missions this year: one to Latin America with the Prime Minister and one when I led a delegation to China recently—when you look back at New Zealand and when you are in other countries and you hear them talk about all of those things that I have just talked about they are fundamentally important to exporters. We need to ensure that we do the utmost to hold up our integrity on the world stage as the producer of some of the best and finest food in the world.Importantly this particular incident that we are discussing in the House this afternoon is disappointing. It is disappointing that it has occurred. Consumers are disappointed the Government is disappointed our trading partners are disappointed and our hard-working farmers who get up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. every morning andproduce a high-quality food product are disappointed as well. We will however get through this. It will knock our reputation around a bit but we will be stronger. We will be stronger as a country from this event into the future.There are a whole lot of questions that we all want to ask and indeed we want answers to and at the appropriate time we will be able to get the answers to those questions that we all so desire. Right now the focus is on the health and well-being of our children particularly and our families and I want to acknowledge the work that Minister Kaye Minister Ryall and Minister Goodhew have done in this space. I also want to acknowledge the work that Minister Groser has done on the international stage in reaching out to our markets.The response across the Government has I believe shown to the New Zealand public how importantly we have treated this issue from when Ministers became aware of it on Friday afternoon. We set up a ministerial group. Officials from a number of agencies have come together and indeed have worked all weekend. I have been impressed by our all-of-Government approach and indeed I have been keeping in touch with the industry and its response has been consistent. Food safety is the top priority for New Zealand and we need to do what we can to assure New Zealanders and our export markets that we are taking this very very seriously.The industry groups have expressed deep disappointment that this has happened but they are committed to doing what they can to assure New Zealanders and overseas markets that as an exporting food nation we treat these food safety issues extremely seriously. We will get through this. We will be stronger for it. Thank you for the opportunity to make a contribution this afternoon on what is a very important issue.