Barclay ToddTODD BARCLAY (National—Clutha-Southland): It is a privilege to be able to speak in the Estimates debate for the primary sector. My electorate the electorate of Clutha-Southland is 38000 square kilometres. It is the size of Switzerland geographically. We are made up of 34 towns and communities and all bar two of them are towns and communities that service the primary sector. It is an incredible aspect of my electorate and it takes up a lot of time visiting the various businesses farmers and individuals who are working in that space. Before I start I just want to acknowledge our Ministers from the Primary Production Committee. I want to acknowledge the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy; Associate Minister for Primary Industries Jo Goodhew who is also the Minister for Food Safety; and the Minister for Land Information Louise Upston and to commend them for their presentations to the select committee. You have got very robust and complicated portfolio areas. As a country we are significantly relying upon the work of your departments and I think that we can be proud as a country that we have got some great leaders leading those departments. I just want to make a few remarks about the Ministry for Primary Industries and its relation to my electorate. The first is I want to acknowledge its efforts regarding the velvetleaf recovery. The minute that that issue resonated in my electorate the Ministry for Primary Industries and Environment Southland worked incredibly hard to get around a large number of farms surveying and canvassing the crops to make sure there was no infection from velvetleaf. I just want to acknowledge both Environment Southland and the Ministry for Primary Industries for their quick response and their community-centred effort around that. I think it is important to acknowledge departments like that when they are going through those sorts of rescue and recovery efforts. Looking over the last 6 or 7 years since the Ministry for Primary Industries has been the beast that I suppose it is it is responsible for and it has got an oversight over a large robust work programme addressing a number of long-term complex challenges with regard not only to the primary sector but also to our economy as a whole. If you look at the complex environmental challenges it is tasked with playing a strategic role in—the social implications of the primary sector and its operations the workforce capability issues that it is basically forced to try to assist industries to overcome over the medium to long term and then career development for those who are working within the sector—it is incredibly important for regional New Zealand. The ministry in its presentation with the Ministers over Estimates gave us an oversight of a number of initiatives that it is undertaking quite actively with the sector to try to build that capability and ensure that we have got that going into the long term. I note also the economic implications of global events. I want to remark on the dairy payout. Obviously it is quite a challenging time for all of our dairy communities across the country but the resilience that our farmers and the banks are showing in coping with the challenge of the global events centred on the dairy payout is really remarkable. The Ministry for Primary Industries is playing a significant role in that. We heard from the Minister in the Estimates debate some of the initiatives that the ministry is taking to work closely with banks and with communities particularly around mental health and the role that the rural support trusts are playing. It was pleasing to see as part of the Budget the increase in investment that we have put into the rural support trusts. There are a lot of people and a lot of agencies that play a significant role within the social fabric of our communities but there is one that always stands out that is playing a significant role in helping communities and farmers through what is an incredibly tough time and that is the rural support trusts. So I just wanted to acknowledge them and the Southland and Otago branches within that. Looking at the other challenges that the Ministry for Primary Industries under the leadership of the Ministers is having to deal with it was pleasing to see some of the initiatives within the Budget that can support that. One challenge is also around traversing and navigating an increasing range of complex partnerships whether that be with iwi councils—regional councils and district councils—across the country or private sector investments through the Sustainable Farming Fund and various other funds that we have got in the primary sector and also with international counterparts and the increasing role that the Ministry for Primary Industries is playing with our major trading partners across the world. It is interesting seeing over the last few years within the Budget the increased capacity that the ministry has been putting into our diplomatic or trading capacity overseas. It is important. It is our main industry and we need to make sure that our main industry has those relationships as well. Thank you.