Headline: Minister couldn’t read the signals
Casual ministerial advice and a Minister who failed to heed the warnings was the cause of the major meat blockage at the Chinese border, says Damien O’Connor, Labour spokesperson for Primary Industries.
“Nathan Guy received written advice that the media and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade were asking questions about issues around the export of New Zealand sheep meat into China on 12 May.
“Mr Guy should have clearly picked up on the danger then. He didn’t. He waited until he got a text message from the Director General two days later, which gave him a fairly clear and blunt message that something had to be done.
“I also find it strange that certificates issued beyond 1 March had not been authorised by AQSIQ. Answers to written parliamentary questions clearly show that the Ministry failed to appreciate the detail of its international trade obligations with the elimination of the Food Safety Authority.
“Mr Guy needs to explain why his Government’s set up of the Ministry of Primary Industries created this mess and if on-going certification by a now defunct agency is the only way to export meat into China.
“While the Minister has indicated that meat is moving off the wharves, how can we be confident his assurances will protect our growing export of primary produce into China and the exporters who commit hundreds of millions of dollars to that trade?”
—
