PGP Allocation Misdirected

The funding allocated to the manuka honey industry by National’s Primary Partnership for Growth fund would have been better spent on frontline Biosecurity, says Labour’s spokesperson for Biosecurity Damien O’Connor.

“Any money for the struggling beekeeping industry is welcome, but the importance of bees runs further than manuka honey and unless more is spent and done to protect New Zealand's biosecurity we won't have a healthy bee population. This in turn will adversely affect the economy,” Damien O’Connor said.

“While the industry is not well coordinated and advocacy in the vital area of biosecurity is less than ideal, that does not mean the Government can walk away from this crucial area of responsibility given the reliance on bees for our biological export production.

“The presence of the Asian Bee in Australia and the lax border processes being implemented mean a real threat of an incursion exists. The bee industry is under huge pressure from varroa mite and could not fight another biological battle at this time.

“The PGP slush fund has been very mean to science and research applications but a generous prop to some existing industry players.

“ When in Government, Labour will review the PGP scheme and investment into the Sustainable Farming Fund which has proven itself through support for sustainable innovation across all primary sectors,” Damien O’Connor said.