Winston Peters

New Zealand First Leader

Member of Parliament for Northland
7 AUGUST 2017

If Korean Mud Was Bad is Animal Excrement Okay?

New Zealand First is calling on the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy to act for this country and stop proposals to import European farm animal manure.

“The Minister wasn’t doing anything about mud being imported from South Korea, where there has been a foot and mouth outbreak, but fortunately the importers saw sense after public unease,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“It was bad that dodgy Korean mud got so far down the track, but the importation of excreta of horses, cattle and chickens is worse. We are talking about something that Federated Farmers, DairyNZ and Equine Health all think is bonkers.

“Mr Guy needs to can the proposed Import Health Standard for animal manure.

“We are playing with fire here, given MPI’s complete paralysis over Mycoplasma bovis. There are risks of foot and mouth and a host of diseases and pests from supposedly treated high risk imports.

“Ask farmers if they trust MPI implicitly and they’ll point to beet seeds that were certified as weed free but full of the noxious pest plant velvet leaf. They could mention any of the other 150 plus incursions we’ve endured since 2008.

“Then there are myrtle rust spores showing pinpoint precision targeting selected nurseries in selected regions.

“As taxpayers fund the Import Health Standard for foreign animal excrement, as a high priority, we want to know if taxpayers have footed the bill for assessing this Korean mud,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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