MAF restructure enacted today

“We have a big policy shop so we have tended to do a whole lot of everything and as a result haven’t delivered as well as we’d like to. 

“I personally like to focus on deliverables and have a reputation for making sure people are held to account in doing what they promise to do.”

While biosecurity and water quality are big issues for MAF, so is improving primary sector production. McNee promises to review its regulatory framework. 

“We are by far the biggest regulator in government and regulation has a cost as well as a benefit. We will be putting a big focus into minimising the impact of our regulation.” 

He wants MAF to play a  greater role in ‘leading the courageous conversations’ on hot topics such as water quality and animal welfare. 

“We need to be talking to the various sectors about issues and to be fronting some of this in public. We need to be more proactive in the media and present a ‘MAF view’ on some of these issues.”

McNee says MAF will also focus on is ‘technology transfer’, also in respect of food safety. In talks with Chinese delegations he has heard them emphasise the critical importance of food safety for their market. He also expects MAF to work hard on trade negotiations. With the advent of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), MAF has a huge role in the actual negotiations and in policy development once the deals have been signed.

Maori agriculture is another priority this year because of its “enormous potential”. A new 30-person group, including fisheries personnel, is now working in this area. 

“We are putting in place a good programme working with the Maori trustee and other Maori agribusinesses. Some, such as Miraka, are already successful and we are trying to  identify what we need to do to help the rest. One issue is the structure of Maori land ownership. We are also working with the Federation of Maori Authorities (FOMA) to improve technology transfer and get the wider Maori agribusiness sector to understand the opportunities that exist.”

McNee generally is pleased with how the restructuring has gone. Most job losses have been in the ‘back office’ (corporate area); front line staff such as biosecurity and fisheries have not been affected. Now the focus is on building new integrated finance, HR and  document management systems and the creation of a new ‘culture’ for the organisation and making sure staff provide quality service.