9. Question No. 9—BiosecurityANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) to the Minister for BiosecurityQuestion No. 9—Biosecurity9. ANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki) to the Minister for Biosecurity: What recent announcements has he made regarding the work to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis from New Zealand?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister for Biosecurity): Today I announced that the last known property infected with the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis has been de-stocked disinfected and officially declared disease-free. This is a major milestone in the work towards eradication and is the first time that we have had no infected properties and no properties under investigation since M. bovis was detected in New Zealand five years ago. I want to acknowledge the hard work and collaboration between the Government the Ministry for Primary Industries DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand to bring us to this point and also acknowledge the sacrifices made by affected farmers their families and their communities. It has been a huge effort but as a result our goal of a world-first eradication is that much closer.Anna Lorck: What has been achieved since the Mycoplasma bovis eradication programme began in 2018?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: In 2018 alongside our partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand this Government made the bold decision to be the first in the world to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis. We made that decision to protect our national herd our farming businesses and our international reputation. In the five years since we have completed more than 3.2 million tests for M. bovis used movement controls on almost 3000 farms culled approximately 184000 cattle and cleared 280 infected properties. This has been a massive operation; it has touched almost every farming community across the country—but five years on I have no doubt that the decisions to eradicate have been the right ones.Anna Lorck: What are the next steps in the plan to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: While we might currently have no infected properties or active investigations we still have some work ahead to reach our world-first eradication goal. It would not be unexpected to see a small number of cases pop up in the future but all the indicators from our bulk milk testing and our beef herd surveillance show that our 10-year eradication plan is on track and moving in the right direction. The programme will now move to a national pest management plan with OSPRI taking the lead but that doesn't mean that now is the time to relax. We're only as good as our surveillance and our on-farm records and it's crucial that we all stay vigilant and keep M. bovis off our farms.Anna Lorck: What does this progress mean for our farmers and our businesses?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: More good news: hitting this milestone shows that our plan is working and that the hard work from farmers industry partners and the Government has made a difference allowing M. bovis to become an endemic disease. It was estimated to come at the cost of $1.3 billion in lost production in the first 10 years alone. Our progress so far will protect Kiwi farmers and businesses from shouldering these losses throughout the future. It will also protect the health of our herd our international reputation and our record export growth.