Primary industries get reshuffle into ‘entities’
Stand-alone ‘‘entities’’ for fisheries, forestry, biosecurity and food safety have been created in a portfolio reshuffle that will have them sitting within the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Minister for Agriculture, Biosecurity, Food Safety and Rural Communities Damien O’connor announced last week that MPI will reorganise its functions to create a stronger focus on core responsibilities. O’connor said the Government would set up portfolio-based entities for Fisheries New Zealand, Forestry New Zealand, Biosecurity New Zealand and New Zealand Food Safety. The overhaul would cost $6.8 million with operating costs of $2.3m a year. The funds would come from ‘‘reprioritising’’ some of the Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) research programmes. There would be no reduction in jobs, although staff might not remain in the same positions they were in now.
The MPI name would be retained in order to avoid a repeat of 2012 when the Ministry of Agriculture was dismantled and trade was interrupted. O’connor said the Government had a coalition commitment for additional funding in biosecurity and over time for all the new agencies. Federated Farmers supported the reshuffle as being a ‘‘pragmatic’’ move. ‘‘We certainly didn’t want to see the upheaval and expense of a total carve-up of MPI,’’ Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said.
National primary industries spokesman Nathan Guy said it was a ‘‘wasteful and ill-conceived rebrand’’. He said just over $17m over four years would be spent on splitting up a well-functioning ministry to suit the demands of Labour’s coalition. ‘‘The worst part of it is though, that the money is essentially being fleeced from the PGP fund – used for essential research and development - to pay for bureaucracy.’’