3568 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Rural Communities

3568 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Rural Communities: Is the Minister concerned that cuts to staff at the Ministry for Primary industries, alongside cuts to staff at the Ministry of Health, will negatively impact health services in rural communities, and if not, why not?

Hon Mark Patterson: MPI is not proposing any reductions to its frontline services and statutory staff, such as veterinarians, animal welfare, fishery and food compliance officers, and biosecurity teams at the border. The primary sector can have confidence that MPI’s key functions including biosecurity, food safety, forestry and fisheries will not be compromised by the proposed changes, and this will be a key consideration in final decisions.