Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:619;Page:14883] 
5.  
JILL PETTIS (Labour—Whanganui) 
 to the  
Minister of Agriculture 
: What further support has the Government provided to farmers affected by recent floods? 
Hon JIM SUTTON (Minister of Agriculture) 
: 
 The Government moved swiftly to assist those who have been affected by the recent floods earthquakes and landslides in the Bay of Plenty. Ministers announced last week an agricultural recovery package and other measures to repair schools fix roads and give direct help to low-income earners and people who had to be evacuated. The Government is matching dollar for dollar any funds raised to support affected people and almost $200000 has been given to local councils to pay for immediate needs. 
Jill Pettis 
: Can people have confidence that their needs will be met as they recover and rebuild after this disaster? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: Absolutely! The Government and all its agencies are focusing on providing services to address people’s needs. We are committed to a prompt and practical response to enable people to resume their lives. Although we are careful to use taxpayers’ dollars prudently in the circumstances we do put people before dollars. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: In light of the quite substantial concerns of Federated Farmers and those involved in the flood recovery is the Government prepared to lower the threshold for rural recovery assistance to smaller farmers from $10000 to $5000? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: The Government has in fact undertaken to do that— 
Simon Power 
: To lower the threshold? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: Yes. We have reduced the threshold in the Bay of Plenty to $5000 or 10 percent of qualifying expenditure—whichever is higher. 
Ian Ewen-Street 
: What practical steps has the Minister taken to implement the recommendation of Landcare Research following the Manawatu-Wanganui storm event in February and the lessons learnt from Cyclone Bola that marginal hill-country grazing land should be re-afforested; and if he is not taking any practical steps when will he do so? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: In fact the Government has taken a decision in respect of forested areas that were damaged in that storm and it is engaged in a longer-term process to determine appropriate policies to encourage prudent afforestation on vulnerable hill country. But in the context of the immediate response to these recent disasters that has been put aside for more careful consideration in the longer term. 
Judy Turner 
: Can the Minister explain why river sand deposited on pasture cannot be returned to the river; and what solutions have been suggested to stop farmers having to wait until next autumn to till that sand back into their pastures and reclaim their currently unusable acreage? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: I hesitate to proffer advice on the technical questions of pasture restoration. As for returning sand to the riverbed that is certainly a matter for the regional council. 
Tariana Turia 
: Given that there are other members of rural communities also affected by the floods why have they not been assisted to the same level that farmers have and why are the conditions of their houses roads and facilities still in such disrepair as to prevent those people from being able to return to their homes even now? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: My portfolio responsibility is directed to the agriculture recovery programme and I can assure the member in case she is worried that we are being too generous that we are not attempting to compensate people for their loss of income. We are attempting to give them a helping hand to get their businesses back and operating again in the interests of the whole community. 
Simon Power 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I wonder whether the Minister would clarify his answer to an earlier question when I thought I heard him say that the level of spending relates— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order it is a supplementary question and the member is entitled to have one. [ 
Interruption 
] I am not having those sorts of interjections. He who is without sin can cast the first stone. 
Simon Power 
: Can the Minister confirm that his statement that Bay of Plenty farmers will need to cross only a $5000 threshold to access the Government package will also apply to those properties affected by the February floods in Manawatu Rangitikei and Whanganui? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: I am prepared to take the member through this issue later if he likes but to put it shortly the threshold in the Bay of Plenty provides more for people with a small amount of damage and slightly less for people with a large amount of damage compared with the lower North Island. In respect of the lower North Island flooding the member did make representation to me seeking to lower the threshold but while that would replicate in the lower North Island the process we put in place in the Bay of Plenty and would mean giving more to people with a small amount of damage it would also involve giving less to people with a large amount of damage than they have been given reason to expect. So it is not really possible to go back and change that. But we have learnt from that and I think we have an improved system in place for the Bay of Plenty.