81890 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity

81890 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity: How will the Minister specifically ensure that any redundancies made in last financial year to now, do not compromise its ability to manage biosecurity threats, especially in light of emerging risks such as H5N1?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: I am advised that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has not made any reductions to frontline services and statutory roles within Biosecurity New Zealand. The reductions in filled positions consolidated functions such as support services, portfolio management, business analysis, and operational policy. MPI operates with the ability to deploy critical capability and capacity to respond to any major pest and disease incursion. As there always has been, there is ongoing prioritisation of what pests and diseases to monitor and respond to.