Browning SteffanSTEFFAN BROWNING (Green): Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to speak to the Budget and in particular agriculture and biosecurity. There is a very good positive thing in that Nathan Guy has managed to get some more money for biosecurity: $18.4 million of seriously needed money and it does not go far enough. When National came in in 2008 very very quickly there was a cutting back of the biosecurity spend an atrocious thing when we were already having biosecurity incursion after biosecurity incursion. We are paying the cost of those and generations ahead will pay the cost of the effect of those biosecurity incursions. Nathan Guy when he took on the role did set about rebuilding the biosecurity spend back up to what it was in 2008 and now he has passed that in real terms. So that sounds good. [Interruption] It does sound good. In real terms equivalent money to now there was $209000—sorry $209 million spent by Labour no doubt and then $203000—$203 and a half—Hon Members: Million.STEFFAN BROWNING: —million thank you guys. [Interruption] It feels like that in terms of incursions—this lower rate. So $203 million is what the spend dropped back to in 2009. Now it is up to $244 million and that is good news but in terms of incursions and response and ability to respond it goes nowhere near enough. The reason for that is that freight has gone up 24 percent and there has been a 70 percent increase in foot passengers coming into New Zealand. On the Primary Production Committee we went up and we had look at some of the activities at Auckland Airport and there was a high level of professionalism amongst the staff there. But they are still struggling. Still people come in—story after story of people coming in. They even declare the food items they have got with them and they are still let through. It is not running perfectly. So there has been a 70 percent increase in foot traffic a 24 percent increase in tonnage and only a 20 percent increase in the biosecurity spend which was already well below the need. Myrtle rust at the moment is being addressed as best as possible it seems. Well it is not as best as possible. If there is a find no one is allowed to send stuff out naturally enough from that property. It does not stop the neighbour or someone three doors down taking some pōhutukawa seedlings 500 kilometres away to another area. The Ministry for Primary Industries and the Minister for Primary Industries have been loath to set in better plant controls. Now myrtle rust has been found on some bigger trees and we are yet to understand exactly where it comes from. This lower level—the stopping of plant material moving—is because of an assumption of how it comes in. Even if it is coming in by wind and is not human-induced incursion the people out there trying to get seed to protect our biodiversity and to store that—to have that genetic material—want more time. They need better support. The Minister has made some progress but we need significantly more progress in biosecurity.The last thing I will say is that there was nothing in the Budget for organics. There was nothing in the Budget for organics and that is where the extra value both in sustainability and actual economic gains is to be had in terms of agriculture. Thank you.