Sutton Jim: Estimates Debate —  
Sutton Jim: Estimates Debate —  
[Volume:610;Page:7206] 
Hon JIM SUTTON (Minister of Agriculture) 
: 
 It is deeply disappointing to me that the chair of the Primary Production Committee has not deigned to make a contribution to this debate. He did turn up but his whip sent him away again and I suppose that was prudent. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: The member cannot refer to a member’s absence. 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: I will just think of him as being present. The member Doug Woolerton said that the biggest issue facing agriculture forestry and biosecurity is the value of the dollar. There is no doubt that changes in the value of the dollar do make a big difference to an exporting sector like agriculture or forestry and the fact that our dollar has now reverted to the level that was the norm for many years until about 1998 or 1999 is extremely uncomfortable. I can assure the member that if I knew of a way to bring the dollar down and to keep it at an exporter-friendly level I would certainly do that for him. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: That’s not what you said in Opposition. 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: Indeed that is the sort of thing I have consistently said when the dollar has been too high. We are fortunate that we had a few years where the dollar was down at a very exporter-friendly level—although not really a consumer-friendly level. 
The member Nick Smith’s speech was memorable for the fact that he found a way in which he could use the word “fart” in Parliament and he used it about 25 times. It really showed what sort of member he is. He is stuck in the fourth form and cannot get promoted out of it. I predict that that is the way he will continue to be. He forgets that it was a National Party Minister in a National Government who signed the Kyoto Protocol for New Zealand. He sang a different song then. This member wants to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds. Of course when he is addressing “greenies” he is all for the Kyoto Protocol but when he is addressing farmers who might have to pay a few dollars a week to help mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions he sings a different song. He is the man of the short memory. 
I have some respect for Ian Ewen-Street—I could not recognise him for a while but I finally worked it out. He expressed his dismay that there has been no increase in biosecurity. I suggest to the member that he should go back and look at the Budget tables for the last few years because during the term of this Government—being the last 3 years and a bit—baseline biosecurity expenditure has gone up by $50 million a year. That money is being well spent. 
He went on to come out with the classic Opposition stunt: he found out what the Government is doing and demanded that it be done. Well good for him; at least he could not get anything wrong except the timing. He called for some action on the biosecurity of sea freight containers. He would well know that a new import health standard for sea freight containers is out for consultation. That has been completed and the analysis of that input—which followed a million-dollar research programme conducted over a couple of years under this Government—is pretty close to being at the point where the Government can sign it off. Provided that my colleagues support the necessary funding New Zealand will then be the world leader in the biosecurity of sea freight containers. 
We are already the world leader in biosecurity in respect of the handling of incoming passengers and aircrew and I am proud to say that. However I have been far from satisfied with the sea freight container situation. I am now satisfied that we are heading in the right direction. We will have every sea freight container unpacked under the supervision of a trained Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry person who knows what to do if a cloud of insects appears or if a snake starts to slither out or if something of that nature should occur. The thing will be done methodically. An elaborate paper or electronic trail will follow every container coming into the country. We will be able to gauge the degree of caution that needs to be exercised when each container is opened. Where it is opened and under whose supervision will depend upon the history of not only the container and the manifest of its cargo but also the performance of all the people who have been involved in importing exporting and packing the container in filling out the forms and so on. 
We will have the most biosecure border in the world as far as sea freight containers are concerned as we do at present as far as travellers are concerned. But that does not mean that we will not occasionally get incursions of pests and diseases. We will need to keep a very high standard of preparedness for dealing with such incursions recognising them as quickly as possible and eradicating them if possible as well. 
I thank members who have been very supportive of biosecurity matters over the past year and I urge members on all sides of the House to continue to support the splendid work being done by the MAF Quarantine Service and other parts of the Government in ensuring that we preserve a high level of biosecurity in New Zealand.