M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
Dealing with the outfall from Covid-19 is one of the top priorities in the coming year for Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) boss Ray Smith.
He told Rural News that getting his front line staff vaccinated is essential so that they and other staff can support farmers and industry through the “inevitable” future outbreaks of the virus.
“I don’t underestimate the Covid issue and we can’t afford to have our industries closed down or not meet trading expectations,” he told Rural News.
Smith says he’s full of praise for the way the agricultural sector has coped with Covid during the past year.
“They have been awesome. We have taken our ag sector community through three lockdowns of different forms and our export revenues will be similar to last year,” he says. “Volume is good, but the exchange rate may peel a bit off the final result.”
Smith says MPI staff have performed exceptionally well and stuck to the rules and not one of them has become infected with the virus. For his part, Smith is a member of a small group of chief executives from key government agencies responsible for matters pertaining to the border.
The group called the ‘border executive’ includes the CEO’s of Customs, MFAT, MBIE, NZTE and Transport. Smith says the role of this group is to ensure that there is good coordination around border-related issues.
Smith says another interesting aside to the Covid crisis is that a number of MPI’s leading epidemiologists who were working on the M. bovis outbreak have been working with colleagues from the Ministry of Health on Covid. He says this highlights the transferable nature of their skills.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
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