12. Question No. 12—AgricultureTEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister of AgricultureQuestion No. 12—Agriculture12. TEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by his statement that relating to PKE the New Zealand Government would not support importation that has led to illegal activity in foreign nations"; if so why?Hon MEKA WHAITIRI (Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare)) on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture: To the first part of that question yes. And second part: because New Zealand does not support the illegal importation of goods. New Zealand businesses need to ensure the integrity of their supply chains and that they are operating consistently within the laws of the relevant country.Teanau Tuiono: Has the Minister directed his agencies to investigate recent reports linking Fonterra's palm kernel expeller (PKE) supplier Wilmar International to illegal palm oil plantations and deforestation in Indonesia and if not why not?Hon MEKA WHAITIRI: On behalf of the Minister while I can't speak on behalf of Federated Farmers the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and industry are working together with farmers on how they can farm without PKE and this work will continue.Teanau Tuiono: Is the Minister concerned that New Zealand's status as the largest importer of PKE in the world is a reputational risk to our agricultural sector following the Government joining a global commitment to halt deforestation by 2030 at COP-26 last week and if not why not?Hon MEKA WHAITIRI: The Government takes deforestation very very seriously. In relation to that specific question for the member the dairy system is overwhelmingly pasture based. So I'm advised that approximately 80 to 85 percent of a New Zealand dairy cow's diet is pasture with the remaining being supplementary feed. And all crops growing PKE account for approximately 6 to 7 percent of the total feed consumed by New Zealand dairy cows and around a third of the non-pasture feed. It might be of interest for the member to know that PKE imports peaked in 2018 and have fallen by 17 percent by volume since then.Teanau Tuiono: Does the Minister agree with the recent comment from Federated Farmers' dairy chairman that referring to PKE "We have farmed without it before and we could again." and if not why not?Hon MEKA WHAITIRI: Absolutely. Actually the Federated Farmers chairman Wayne Langford's full quote which I support goes: "It would definitely be a change to the systems currently in place. But we have farmed without it before and we could again."Teanau Tuiono: Will he seek advice from his officials on New Zealand's use of PKE sourced from palm oil plantations overseas and options for addressing this?Hon MEKA WHAITIRI: I'm advised that this Government and through the work of MPI—that we have an enormous regenerative farming programme that's currently operating throughout the country now. This Government has invested $6.5 million in regenerative agriculture projects through the Sustainable Food and Fibres Futures. So yes we would be looking at overseas models for that member but we've got our own programme of work that will address the very issue the member has raised."