81854 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity

81854 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity: What financial costs could be associated with a long-term management approach to bird flu, including both direct biosecurity responses and indirect economic impacts on industries such as agriculture, tourism, and export markets?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: Planning for New Zealand to live with avian influenza over the long-term is currently underway and includes work to identify the direct and indirect impacts. The uncertainty of when H5N1 HPAI might arrive and the potential scale of the outbreak, requires a collaborative and coordinated approach. This will require the involvement of central government agencies, local and regional councils, iwi and hapū, industry, and communities. MPI is working to ensure the stakeholders, communities and industries at most risk, such as commercial poultry, are prepared for the possible arrival of H5N1 HPAI. MPI is also working with our trading partners to mitigate the impacts of the possible arrival of H5N1.