82397 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister of Agriculture

82397 (2024). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister of Agriculture: What was the rationale behind the decision for 102 redundancies during the ‘Improving our Efficiency’ process to reduce expenditure?

Hon Todd McClay: As part of Budget 2024, MPI was asked by the Government to find annual baseline savings of 7.5 percent from the start of the 2024/25 financial year. 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.