Carter David: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Carter David: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:630;Page:2424] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 In the brief chance we get to speak on the financial review of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry I want to take the opportunity to put issues to the Minister in the chair the new Minister of Agriculture the Hon Jim Anderton. I want him to know that farmers throughout New Zealand have put him on notice that it is his job to represent the concerns of the industry. It has a lot of very significant concerns particularly as we face a downturn in commodity prices—coming after what I do accept have been 4 or 5 very good years. The Minister’s appointment follows on from the reign of his predecessor Jim Sutton who as Minister of Agriculture can only be described as a total disaster. He failed around the Cabinet table to represent the concerns of farmers. He promoted issues like public access through privately owned farms in this country and I certainly hope the new Minister will not continue with that sort of debate around the Cabinet table. Mr Sutton also promoted the infamous “fart tax” which I am sure the new Minister will assure us is completely off the agenda. Is it little wonder when a Minister like Mr Anderton’s predecessor promoted notions like that that he lost the once-safe seat of Aoraki to our member Jo Goodhew? 
The farmers of New Zealand treated the appointment of Mr Anderson with absolute dismay when that Minister was appointed. They took the opportunity to say to the Minister: “We accept that you don’t understand much about agriculture but we understand that you’re prepared to listen.” I repeat the famous words of Mr Anderton: “I will represent you because I’m No. 3 in Cabinet.” He said: “What part of No. 3 don’t you understand?”. I think those words are particularly relevant considering the issue of the microchipping of farm dogs. Mr Anderton had gone to the farming community and said that that law was ludicrous and he would ensure that it was changed. He went to the Cabinet room on the 10th floor of the Beehive and he failed to deliver change because he at No. 3 was rolled by the Minister at No. 18 in Cabinet. 
So Mr Anderton to date has failed the first test as Minister of Agriculture. But there is now another issue which we saw signs of on the front steps of Parliament today—the future biosecurity of New Zealand. Farmers whether or not they are involved in the bee industry are watching the Minister to make sure that that decision does not put the biosecurity of this country at risk. 
Federated Farmers have presented to the Minister a list of 10 simple doable things they want him to achieve. I have addressed the first issue which is microchipping. He failed on that account. The second issue is that the Department of Conservation and the Minister have the ability within the Resource Management Act to argue in more than an advocacy role. To date the Minister has failed in accepting the decision that Chris Carter the Minister of Conservation made with regard to Whangamata. The third doable issue is for the Minister to achieve a way whereby the Department of Conservation will not continue to increase its landholding around the country unless it has budgeted sufficiently to ensure adequate management of those lands. National waits to see whether the Minister of Agriculture achieves that one. The fourth doable thing is the funding of rural roads which is a huge component of the rates that farmers throughout New Zealand pay. I remind the Minister that farmers alone as an industry pay more than 20 percent of all rates collected by territorial local authorities. Federated Farmers have said to the Minister that he should ensure there is a fair mechanism for paying for those roads and that all the funds collected from roads end up being spent on roads.