van de Molen Tim; O'Connor DamienTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Chair. I'd just like to come back to my earlier questioning in relation to the M. bovis situation—so winding back a wee way. I just want to get an update on the compensation situation. So it's great that we've got down to only a handful of infected properties and we're now looking to downscale the team. I think that's appropriate. As I understand that compensation team itself isn't being downscaled which is good but I wonder whether there's any consideration being given to injecting a little additional resource in there to try and catch up on some of those. So it'd be good to know what the average time is now. I understand it's north of 20 days' average compensation claim time and the target had been only a couple of weeks so I wonder whether there are any particular issues the Minister can share that are key sticking points in these compensation claims that are coming up as regular issues or whether an additional injection of resourcing might clear a bit of a backlog there—if that has been a consideration point because of course whilst we all acknowledge the great progress that's happened that is one of the toughest areas. For those impacted farmers compensation is a really important part of the process and it can be a particularly stressful part if it has been delayed or contested. So I really would like to see a stronger focus on clearing away those remaining compensation claims. I understand there are still over 100 in the mix but it would be great to get some insight around what's happening in that space please.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): Thank you. Look very briefly the compensation programme is running pretty smoothly and I have to say there are not many longstanding or outstanding claims. Some of them are complex because they relate to I guess the assessment of what is potential loss of milk production. But payment directly for animals and that—straightforward—is pretty streamlined at the moment. If there are any particular claims—and I often was contacted when there were outstanding or difficult ones. I've now had direct emails from people. This might lead to a few of them maybe. But actually the compensation system has been working very very well and I acknowledge the team that had been working through some quite complex ones but it's a small pool and it's a declining number of them thankfully.TIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Moving on to a slightly different topic and again the Minister touched on this briefly. We might just continue if we're able to for another few minutes on this. In relation to your comments around Taratahi being back up and running that's great. Part of their training focus I think you mentioned was around rural contractors. Now that's an area that's becoming increasingly important. There's a real shortage of rural contracting staff available. Typically we see a real influx of international workers coming in—a lot of UK lads come over and do the harvest season for example. What I'm hearing from a lot of rural contractors is they're getting very nervous around their inability to bring those staff in when we're looking at only a short period of time before they're cracking into it for the season and that'll go right through six-odd months or more actually through to the maize harvest early-mid next year. So I'm really keen to understand what work's being done in that place. I appreciate a bit of retraining will help but actually I'd suggest it's well more than 350-odd. I don't have those numbers; the Minister may do. But there are cries for help from rural contractors around the country. We really need to see support coming in. Is there any way they can be classified as essential workers? Would that have to be a case by case scenario? Can we look at some exemption like we did for the sheep testing scanners to make sure that this gets done? This becomes an animal welfare issue if we're not getting the feed harvested through spring or the crops in the ground for example when we look at potentially another drought or whatever may happen in six to eight months times. We really need to have a bit more certainty for our farmers and contracting businesses.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): Look thank you. I wouldn't pretend that we'll get trainees from Taratahi to solve this season's problem I have to say. From Telford yes—we've got a course running at Telford and I think it's been very successful so far. We'll have quite a number of people who are competent that can move into that contracting business. Yes there will be a shortfall and it's unlikely that we'll get people from overseas through the system given the COVID reality of the world. But I've committed and I've certainly been in close contact with the contractors association saying Look let's work together on some innovative solutions here." As we've got through COVID and continued our primary production some would have said it's impossible—they did actually at the start. Innovation and lateral thinking got us through this. I'm sure that the same will happen here and there may be people who come for a short period into contracting through those peak periods that have all the ability—whether it's from off a big farm at a period a lull after spring where they can go and work for a contractor. So we'll be doing all we can to help facilitate that. There are migrant workers in the country who have been working in horticulture who may have those tractor skills. We're certainly looking to have the work permits flexible enough to enable people with the right skills to move in and fill those jobs. We understand the need; we'll do everything we can to work with the contractors to fill it.TIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): So in relation to that how will that be facilitated? So if there are workers who have been harvesting fruit for example and there are people in the Waikato crying out for contractors how do we join those two up? The Minister I think may have been contacted in relation to a field day by BlueGrass Contracting in the Waikato who are doing something innovative in trying to encourage new workers in. They're having an open day and spot prizes to get people along to see the sorts of jobs and what's involved to try and encourage some new participants into the industry. They're getting desperate. So if we are potentially able to shift some of these workers around and that can fix some of the problem then great. What's the mechanism for facilitating it? How will they be able to contact—is it going to be some sort of app or a programme that will link those two sides of the employment equation?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): Look there's telephone emails basic communication—I'm not being flippant—but ensuring that we have the right survey. I think the contractors association has gone out. The chairman had rung them to say to each of the contractors "How many people would you need?"—not what you think would be convenient; actually the hard-core needs. We'll work through be it the Ministry of Social Development or be it the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment in terms of oversight of some of the work programmes that we have even to the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme. We will enable the flexibility. We're working through the details of the technical regulatory changes that might be needed. We will do everything we can but I'm not going to pretend that the border will be open to the numbers that they've originally indicated are needed. We're going to have to look internally to fill those gaps and as I say we'll be flexible to enable that to happen."