Carter out of touch and out of line

Primary Industries Minister David Carter is out of touch with his portfolios and is out of line with his recent comments to his constituents, Labour’s Primary Industries spokesperson Damien O’Connor says.

“David Carter’s speech to the Horticulture NZ conference was an insult to growers and industry leaders having to deal with a number of major challenges, including the PSA fall-out and potato physllid, alongside an overvalued New Zealand dollar.

“He has been roundly criticised for his comments, and rightly so. Insulting the horticultural industry because it has raised legitimate concerns about the state of New Zealand’s biosecurity is the sign of a desperate Minister.

“Mr Carter is fully aware of those concerns. Not only are the demands for fundamental changes to biosecurity protection becoming more urgent, the contentious and protracted negotiations over new cost sharing government industry agreements are creating even more headaches for the sector.

“It is not surprising that growing numbers of biosecurity staff are openly expressing their concern at cuts in funding and the shortage of frontline staff.

“Promises of a few more dogs and a few more staff are one thing, but when there’s a multi-billion-dollar industry at stake, it would behove Mr Carter to take heed of what it is telling him.

“Open comment and scrutiny of Government services is a given in any democracy. If the National Government continues to ignore the concerns of Kiwis over issues such as biosecurity it will have to get used to the criticism.

“David Carter should apologise to horticulture leaders for the insulting and gratuitous speech he delivered yesterday,” Damien O’Connor said.