Farmers face lengthy wait for payout

Some farmers are seeking help from their MP to get compensation claims paid out after their farms have been infected by Mycoplasma bovis.

Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker said MPI’s response to compensation claims for M bovis had improved in recent months, but it still needed to be better.

The ministry said it was aware that some farmers have found the compensation process difficult, but it was important that each claim was assessed and approved properly.

MPI has received 360 claims from farmers relating to M bovis, and has made full or part payments to 140 of those.

It has assessed $33.7m worth of claims and paid out $23.6m in compensation.

Walker said farmers who had lodged claims which were accurate and met all the requirements had received compensation in a timely fashion.

‘‘Some farmers have found the compensation process very slow. This makes it even more difficult for them to remain positive in a time where their stress levels are at a record high.

‘‘This outbreak has hit southern farmers and the region hard and for the wellbeing of the province MPI needs to make improvements on the speed in which compensation claims are handled.’’

Walker has spoken to the Minister for Agriculture Damien O’Connor and Biosecurity New Zealand’s director of response Geoff Gwyn to help farmers get compensation.

‘‘However, farmers should not have to rely on their local MP to receive compensation.’’

An MPI spokesperson said the compensation process and criteria was enshrined in legislation.

‘‘It can be a complicated process but it is essential that every single compensation claim is robustly assessed to ensure taxpayer and farmer funds are being used appropriately and that farmers are being paid the correct amount they are entitled to. This unfortunately does take time and we appreciate farmers can be without income for this time and that some people find the process distressing.

MPI has doubled the size of the team working on compensation claims in recent months.

It says during the past four months, the average turnaround time to assess, approve and pay out a claim was 29 working days.

‘‘One of the main things which holds up the claim payment is MPI not receiving the required supporting documentation to back-up the claim. This often leads to back-and-forth communications which we know farmers find frustrating. It is difficult for MPI to complete the assessment process if it doesn’t have all the necessary information.’’

There is some information to assist farmers with making claims on the MPI website.

DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb have a team who can help farmers with their compensation claims independently from MPI.