4. Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Agriculture
What further steps are being taken to implement the New Zealand Fast Forward initiative?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister of Agriculture) Link to this
This morning I signed a heads of agreement with six cornerstone investor groups—Dairy New Zealand, Fonterra, Meat and Wool New Zealand, the Meat Industry Association, PGG Wrightson, and Zespri. Aquaculture New Zealand and the Foundation for Arable Research also made public commitments to contribute to the New Zealand Fast Forward initiative. This is a unique partnership between Government and industry focused on innovation in the pastoral, food, and related industry sectors. It covers dairy, horticulture, meat, and seafood, and it is the single largest boost to innovation in New Zealand history. The Government has made its contribution, and with today’s signing I am delighted to see the private sector moving to match it.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
Has the Minister seen any reports of a sector group that will not sign up to the Fast Forward initiative?
I have not seen any credible sector that is opposed to the fund. Those who are putting their own matching funds into New Zealand Fast Forward include, as I have indicated, Dairy New Zealand, Meat and Wool New Zealand, the Meat Industry Association, Aquaculture New Zealand, Zespri, Fonterra, and PGG Wrightson. There is one group, however, that wants it axed—the National Party sector group. The entire primary sector is evidently wrong! National has a better idea—it is promising to axe the fund; it wants to gallop backwards to the failed policies of the past. Wherever I go in New Zealand our primary sector industries are astonished to find that the National Party is opposed to innovation and is acting to undermine our primary sector industries.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What difference will New Zealand Fast Forward make to New Zealand’s primary industries?
New Zealand Fast Forward will help achieve a step change in our performance among the industries that form the backbone of our economy. For example, Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier said today that the New Zealand Fast Forward fund will enable New Zealand to build on our competitive advantage in agriculture and food production, and complement the current investment in primary sector research. Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie said that New Zealand pastoral sectors have a long history of world-leading innovation, and he went on to say that “The Fast Forward initiative will make a significant contribution to ensuring that this continues, and thereby growing New Zealand’s international competitiveness.” We wonder when the National Party will find out anything about those comments. It does not understand.