O'Connor DamienMINISTERIAL STATEMENTSMycoplasma Bovis—Government ResponseHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): I wish to make a ministerial statement in regard to Mycoplasma bovis. A fortnight ago Cabinet approved a phased eradication plan to remove Mycoplasma bovis from the country's cattle herds. That decision came after much work and discussion with industry groups. These groups including Dairy New Zealand Beef and Lamb Federated Farmers rural support trusts the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association backed eradicating the disease which has an impact on the health of cattle including high mortality among calves mastitis high rates of abortions and reduced milk production. The eradication plan is likely to cost more than $850 million over 10 years with industry groups contributing 32 percent of that. I'd like to thank them for their contribution not just in terms of investment but the expertise they are supplying on the ground.Since the announcement two weeks ago I have visited many parts of the country to talk to farmers and ensure that the response is taking into account the needs of people on the ground. Most farmers I talked to support phased eradication while acknowledging it will be difficult. Although the eradication programme is predicted to affect less than 1 percent of the national herd it is tough financially and emotionally for farmers and families whose animals are infected by the disease. I want farmers to know that this Government and their industry leaders are committed to helping them and their families because they are taking the hit for the other 99 percent of farmers in our efforts to stop Mycoplasma bovis going through the entire national herd.To that end the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has streamlined its compensation process and boosted its compensation team to 35 people. By the end of this week we will have paid out nearly $11 million in compensation but this is an area where I'm constantly pushing for improvement. I instructed the ministry to tap into even more on-farm expertise to help people on the ground with compensation claims and difficulties they face when placed under movement control. Moving to phased eradication has allowed MPI to work with industry partners to bring in more people with practical farming experience. There are now 40 people from industry groups on the ground helping farmers. More than 250 people are working on the response. The rural support trusts are doing great work and we're funding them to ensure people get the help they need.In the past fortnight I can report that the number of farms under regulatory control has been reduced from 300 to about 180. This is likely to change as the response progresses. The reduction is mainly due to farms under notice of direction being tested cleared and allowed to get on with business as usual. The number of properties with confirmed infections recently reduced from 39 to 36 as a result of properties completing the culling and disinfection process. The culling of some 24000 animals on 28 of those infected properties has been completed allowing them to go into the disinfectant stage.In total 44 farms have been identified since July 2017 with eight now cleaned and cleared of Mycoplasma bovis. We expect to find more infected properties in coming months as part of the normal tracking and tracing of animal movements. We've started to make improvements to the national animal tracing system and are committed to improving biosecurity standards and laws to ensure that they are fit for purpose. We will be tougher on enforcing the rules that protect us from biosecurity incursions. This is a big and complex challenge for all of us but I'm committed to learning from mistakes made and improving the response where required.I'd like to thank the farming community for the necessary honesty and support. I'd like to thank the Opposition for backing our eradication plan and my colleagues for their support in Cabinet. In the next few months there will be more challenges for us all as we attempt to do something no other place in the world has achieved—that's eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. When I look to countries like Ireland which are grappling with growing problems from M. bovis I'm convinced that we have to do our utmost to remove the disease from Kiwi farms. If there comes a time when we must give up the fight then we will appraise that with a clear eye after more bulk testing of milk in the spring.The Government knows how vital the primary sector is to New Zealand's economic success and that is why we've made this investment to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. Thank you Mr Speaker.