52439 (2025). Scott Willis to the Minister for Biosecurity

Written Question

Published date: 23 Nov 2025

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	52439 (2025)
Question asked:	05 Nov 2025
Member asking:	Scott Willis
Portfolio:	Minister for Biosecurity
Minister replying:	Hon Andrew Hoggard
Answer received:	17 Nov 2025
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_52439_2025
Document guid:	ed905491-5b61-4137-aed2-4244ea65f858

52439 (2025). Scott Willis to the Minister for Biosecurity: How many, if any, roles at the Ministry for Primary Industries have been cut since November 2023 to date?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: As part of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI’s) ‘Improving our Efficiency” process in 2024, 391 FTE (net) positions were disestablished, of which 258 were vacant. I am advised the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) did not make any reductions to the delivery of direct frontline services and statutory roles, such as veterinarians, animal welfare, forestry managers, fishery and food compliance officers, or biosecurity teams at the border. Since the 2024 process was implemented, Biosecurity New Zealand’s FTE has increased by 56.5 FTE, with the majority of this growth attributable to investment in additional frontline roles.