Times when state has to step in
The Government announced last week that more than 150,000 cattle will be culled to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis from New Zealand. The disease has been called the most severe economic biosecurity issue to hit New Zealand. It is clearly a real threat to dairy, the backbone of New Zealand’s economy.
Mycoplasma bovis causes illness in cattle including udder infections, mastitis, abortion, pneumonia and arthritis. Most major dairy countries in the OECD have the disease and none have managed to eradicate it.
The disease does not present a significant risk to humans, and there is no increased risk to food safety. However, it does present a significant risk to the jobs of the 7 per cent of workers in New Zealand employed in the agricultural sector.
The threat the disease poses is significant but must be viewed in the right context.
There are approximately 3.6 million beef cattle in New Zealand and 6.5 million dairy cattle. The
150,000-odd cattle to be killed makes about 1 per cent of the total cows in New Zealand. The culling will be spread over a couple of years. In any normal year, about one million cows are culled as farmers replace them.
The culling is expected to involve around 200 of the 20,000 dairy and beef farms in New Zealand. For those
200 farms, the impact of the disease will be huge.
What will happen to the farm workers? In some cases their employment might come to an end through the operation of a legal doctrine called frustration of contact. When a catastrophic event occurs which neither party to the contract is responsible for, and it is no longer for possible for the contract to be performed,it will be frustrated and discharged.
It is likely that the workers’ contracts would not truly be frustrated. Some farms might actually have increased workloads as new cattle are bought.
The disease could have a significant flow-on effect on immigration. Many farm workers are migrants. If they lose their work because of the disease, they might have to return home. There are likely to be some cases of real hardship.
The farmers themselves will also be affected. Farmers work hard for long hours and are at the mercy of the land, the weather and as we now see, herd disease. Depression and other mental illnesses are recognised problems among farmers and increased pressure caused by the disease may exacerbate it. Farming organisations will be particularly important in providing support.
The Government has budgeted about $1.2 billion to eradicate the disease and compensate farmers. The taxpayer will meet two-thirds of the cost, with DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb NZ picking up the other third through additional levies on farmers throughout the country.
It is not novel for cattle to contract diseases. There is always some risk. The question is, when should an issue be left for individuals or groups to deal with, and what should be addressed by the Government?
There was an interesting case involving the Ministry of Health that contemplated this question. Seven parents of disabled children and two disabled adults took a case to challenge the ministry’s blanket ban on employing parents to provide disability support to their children.
Many family carers of disabled people were suffering real hardship. Solo parents caring for adult disabled children were entitled to a Domestic Purposes Benefit of then $336.55 per week plus an accommodation supplement. However, if the carer had a partner who worked full-time, they frequently did not qualify.
The Court of Appeal declared the ministry’s policy illegal.
In response, Parliament passed, under urgency, an amendment to the relevant act allowing some family carers to be paid the minimum wage for some hours they worked. This was a compromise solution.
In the cases of the cattle disease and the carers’ case, people had to manage what life dealt them, but in the circumstances it was right that the Government stepped in. Overall we are a compassionate society and try to balance individual responsibility with community support.