7. Question No. 7—AgricultureSTEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui) to the Minister of AgricultureQuestion No. 7—Agriculture7. STEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui) to the Minister of Agriculture: What has the Government done to support New Zealand's farmers and growers?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): The primary industries are the backbone of our economy and the Labour Government has always backed our farmers and growers. The full list is too long to read out in the House but I'll give you a few examples. Firstly we've successfully implemented a world-first Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme. We've co-invested in 267 sustainable food and fibre futures projects alongside industry to lift export value and innovation. We stood up the Opportunity Grows Here initiative to attract Kiwis into the sector and support with labour shortages. We saved Telford and Taratahi from financial ruin and ensured the future of agricultural education. We started On Farm Support and the Career Pathways Scheme. We set aside $6 billion for futureproofing roads and rail infrastructure. We invested $1 billion into developing emissions reduction tools extension services on farm and farm sustainability practices and we've secured seven new or upgraded free-trade agreements to give our exporters diversified market opportunities. At every turn the Labour Government is looking to cement the bright future of our primary industries.Steph Lewis: What have we seen as a result of this support?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: As a result of all this great support we have firstly placed more than 16000 additional Kiwis into primary sector jobs funded 1400 people through free agricultural taster courses at Telford and Taratahi—two organisations that the previous National Government had deserted. We have put 44 on-farm support staff on the ground in the regions and they have played a significant role in Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay. We've got 50 farm advisers into the Career Pathways Scheme. We've established 32 rural hubs to connect farming communities with health and wellbeing support and we've slashed millions of dollars in tariffs off our primary sectors. As a result of this and other support today I've announced the final figure for our food and fibre export revenue ending on 30 June this year: a record $57.4 billion of export earnings. That is 50 percent higher than when we came into Government in 2017. I want to thank the industry and everyone in the primary sectors for helping us achieve that.Steph Lewis: What are the challenges facing the primary sector?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: We've seen an increase in input prices on farm as a result of Russia's war in Ukraine and the effect that has had on supply chains—on fertiliser and fuel in particular. Recently we have seen commodity prices coming down from their record highs. The markets are also sending strong signals around sustainability credentials and emissions reduction. But some of the biggest challenges that we would have are firstly if we ignored the market signals and locked ourselves out of international market opportunities if we opened the door to foreign buyers and made it uncompetitive for New Zealanders to bid for farms or if we sold off core infrastructure like roading into the hands of foreign buyers—that's exactly what National and ACT are campaigning on.Steph Lewis: Will the Government protect farmers by keeping the conduct of financial institutions Act?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Yes. The Labour Government remembers the pain of the interest rate swaps crisis and we would not let that happen again. Thousands of farmers lost hundreds of millions of dollars after being taken advantage of by banks and dodgy operators—that's why we put the Act in place. We also put in place a Farm Debt Mediation Act in 2019 to ensure that farmers under pressure would get a fair deal from their banks. Anyone who is proposing to repeal those protections would be serving our primary sector poorly. That's what National and ACT are campaigning on.