Carter David: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Carter David: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:661;Page:9495] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (Minister of Agriculture) 
: 
 One often wonders where Mr Anderton has been over the last 18 months when he suggests that there has not been a substantial step change in the way that agriculture is now recognised in this country. We had a decade of absolute ignorance by the previous Government of the importance of agriculture to this economy. The farmers were treated like dirt by Mr Anderton. He completely ignored them but now they have a Government that cares about the farming industry and responds to its needs and it is time that Mr Anderton woke up to that. 
Let me deal with research and development. Every time that Mr Anderton gets on his feet he talks about the Fast Forward fund. Let us analyse the Fast Forward fund. The previous Labour Government borrowed $700 million put it into a fund and said industry would support it with dollar for dollar. Not one industry player put a dollar into Fast Forward. Those players knew it was ridiculous from day one. I say to Mr Anderton that we campaigned on research and development. National campaigned to the farmers of New Zealand on the Primary Growth Partnership and who won? The Primary Growth Partnership now has $175 million worth of bids before it. 
Last week I was down in Otago in the Ben Nevis range a beautiful part of the country. There were 500 high country farmers there and they are delighted with the performance of this Government. [ 
Interruption 
] I say to Mr Parker that this Government respects the fact that farmers have a property right and this Government will not trample on their property rights. This Government will give them a reason to farm the high country and a reason to farm it sustainably and carefully. We are not talking about a 600 percent or a 6000 percent increase in rents in an attempt to force farmers off their land. We actually respect the job that those high country farmers do. 
The other thing we did immediately upon becoming the Government was to modify the emissions trading scheme. The previous Labour Government had put in place an emissions trading scheme that would have completed gazumped the agricultural sector. 
Hon Jim Anderton 
: Oh yeah. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Mr Anderton laughs. He thinks that is funny. That shows how out of touch he was with the sector. 
Hon Nathan Guy 
: Tell them about Jim’s chainsaw. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Well I do not think that Mr Anderton would have ever operated a chainsaw. He certainly never owned a pair of gumboots; we know that. 
Mr Anderton suggests that the Government has cut the AgResearch budget. That is wrong again I say to Mr Anderton. We have not cut the budget of AgResearch. The farmers voted not to support their own wool levy. That has meant less funding going into AgResearch and AgResearch has responded to that. But it is absolutely incorrect for the former Minister of Agriculture to stand here and suggest that this Government has cut expenditure to AgResearch because we have not. In actual fact this Government has put an absolute emphasis on science. As we face the challenges of climate change science will provide the solutions. 
Mr Anderton spent 10 years talking about agriculture but he never delivered anything to it. This Government will not make that mistake. We are well and truly on board with our farmers and all around the country farmers are saying there has been a step change in the way that this National-led Government relates to this important constituency. This constituency is the backbone of the New Zealand economy and Mr Anderton should have realised that when he spent so many years as the Minister of Agriculture. He was a disgrace and farmers are pleased to be rid of him. 
Report noted.