Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:667;Page:14284] 
8. 
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Agriculture 
: Is animal welfare principally an ethical and moral issue; if not why not? 
Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Agriculture 
: Animal welfare is not just an ethical and moral issue; it is a complex international policy issue involving ethical moral scientific economic and trade-related considerations. This requires the Government to take a balanced approach when considering animal welfare matters. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Which in his view is more important: trade and economic considerations and the profitability of farmers or moral and ethical issues about how animals are treated? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: I believe that I answered that in reply to the primary question. I said the Government needs to take a very balanced approach. 
Sue Kedgley 
: What responsibility does he have as the Minister of Agriculture who is responsible for animal welfare for investigating ethical issues relating to the treatment of farm animals in New Zealand? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: The member will be pleased to know—and indeed she commended the Minister in her first reading speech on the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill which the House passed earlier this year—that the Government has invested $8.2 million over 4 years. That is the biggest funding boost for animal welfare activities that we have had and it doubles the number of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry enforcement agents on the ground. 
Sue Kedgley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked a very straightforward and specific question. I asked what responsibility he had for investigating ethical issues relating to the treatment of farm animals. Whether the Government has increased the enforcement budget is completely irrelevant to the ethical issues relating to the treatment of farm animals in New Zealand. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think the member has further supplementary questions in which to pick apart the Minister’s answers. The Minister as I heard his answer indicated that the Government was investing more money in inspectors to enable these issues to be investigated and dealt with. That would seem to indicate that the Minister is prepared. Ministers are not responsible; they take these actions through their departments. That answer seemed to be reasonable but if the member is not happy with it she has further supplementary questions in which to pick it apart. 
Sue Kedgley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have only a very limited number of supplementary questions. I asked specifically about investigating ethical issues which animal welfare inspectors do not do. They investigate issues of the abuse of animals; they do not investigate ethical issues relating to the treatment of farm animals. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I believe that that is a perfectly valid reason why we have further supplementary questions. The Minister I believe made an honest attempt to answer that question and it is not for the Speaker to pick it apart; that is the role of the member who asked the question. As I look at the supplementary questions that may be asked I see the member has four more questions. The member has every opportunity to pick the answer apart with four more supplementary questions. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does he think it is acceptable that it is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to keep a companion animal such as a dog in a cage but perfectly acceptable to keep a farm animal such as a hen or a pig in a cage for all or most of its life? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: The member will be pleased to know that this Government is doing an awful lot more on animal welfare issues than was done in the previous 9 years. As a result of that we have already passed some legislation through this House and the Minister has also announced that a full review of the Animal Welfare Act is planned for 2011. 
Sue Kedgley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think that I can predict what the member’s point of order is. On this occasion the member’s question was very specific. I invite her to repeat it so that there will be no misunderstanding because some attempt must be made to answer it. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does he think it is acceptable that it is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to keep a companion animal such as a dog in a cage but perfectly acceptable to keep a farm animal such as a hen or a pig in a cage for all or most of its life? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: That is something that will be addressed in the wide-ranging review in 2011 that I have indicated will occur. The Minister looks forward to the response to that review and bringing the issue back to Parliament. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does he disagree with New Zealand’s largest mainstream animal welfare organisation the SPCA that it is unethical to keep sows in cages where they cannot turn round socialise search for food be part of a family build a nest for their young or express any normal patterns of behaviour; if so why? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: Yes the Minister has heard of those concerns and I come back to the point again that they will be captured in the 2011 review. The Minister has also received information in the last week from the New Zealand Veterinary Association which wrote: “I would like to acknowledge the continuing support and priority you and the Government are putting on animal welfare and particularly the additional funding of $8 million to support MAF deliver on the animal welfare portfolio.” 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does he believe that the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee pays enough attention to the ethical considerations that underpin animal welfare such as whether it is acceptable to force animals to suffer throughout their lives so that they can become more efficient producers of meat milk and eggs? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: Yes at this point in time the Minister does but that will be covered under the wide-ranging review in 2011. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Given the ethical and moral issues that underpin animal welfare why will the Government not allow a personal or conscience vote on my member’s bill on animal welfare? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: National has made a decision on that and we will not be supporting a conscience vote. It is also interesting to note that when the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill recently passed through this Parliament it had majority support in the House but the member for the Greens did not call for a conscience vote then. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: To assist the House I tell members that it is not actually a Minister’s responsibility as to whether a conscience vote is allowed on a matter; it is a matter for the Speaker.