9. Question No. 9—ImmigrationDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 9—Immigration9. Dr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT) to the Minister of Immigration: Will further border exemptions be provided for shearing workers; if not why not?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Immigration): The Government has been very clear that its priority is to protect New Zealanders from COVID-19 and support the economic recovery. This is why we do have stringent quarantine health systems at the border and we control the number of people moving across the border. So on that note the Government has enabled 60 shearers to come to New Zealand to assist with the peak of the shearing season. This is a decision welcomed by the Federated Farmers Meat & Wool Chair William Beetham who has said We really appreciate how hard it has been for the Government to manage this issue and keep New Zealand safe and we really appreciate the fact that they understand the importance of animal welfare and have provided these exemptions." I thank Mr Beetham for that. We will continue to engage with the industry around labour demands and exceptions in the future.Dr James McDowall: Is he confident that the border exemptions provided for 60 shearers will be sufficient for the shearing season given reports that the New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association initially applied for 200?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I am very glad the member asked that specific question because Damien O'Connor has been working very closely with the New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association to make sure that we have what we believe is the minimum viable number to make sure that we can get through the issues with the border at the moment. I will remind the member that the border is closed so we can't bring in as many shearers as we have. And I would also note that for some years the New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association has pointed out that there hasn't been any training of the local workers for shearing and I'd like to thank this side of the House for investing $1.8 million into a trainee pilot programme to make sure we can get local workers into that workforce and not rely on people coming from overseas.Dr James McDowall: Will the Minister take responsibility for any animal welfare issues that arise from unshorn sheep that become flyblown due to the lack of shearing in this season?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I am confident in that because we work closely with the New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association and we've had praise from the likes of the head of Meat & Wool from Federated Farmers that we have the local workforce and the immigrant workforce to make sure that we can get through the season without any issues.Kieran McAnulty: In light of the Minister's support for the shearing industry will he confirm to the House his attendance at next year's Golden Shears?SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat.Kieran McAnulty: What border exemptions has the Government announced to support the primary sector?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: The Government recognises the important role of the primary sector in driving our economic recovery and so far we have issued border exceptions for 30 veterinarians 570 deep-fishing crew 210 agricultural mobile plant operators 2000 Recognised Seasonal Employer workers to support the horticulture and winegrowing and as I said in my primary answer 60 experienced sheep shearers who we hope to see at the Golden Shears."