7. SUE KEDGLEY (Green) to the Minister of Agriculture: Is he taking any action in response to reports that the Pork Industry Board sought to avoid the public embarrassment of reporting conditions in New Zealand piggeries by deliberately evading the Official Information Act; if not, why not?

Hon DAVID CARTER (Minister of Agriculture) : No, and for a very simple reason: I have no responsibility for the Pork Industry Board being compliant with the Official Information Act.

Sue Kedgley: Does he agree that it is a serious offence for a statutory board to seek to evade the provisions of the Official Information Act, and will he exercise his powers under the Pork Industry Board Act 1997 to remove directors who have conspired to circumvent the Official Information Act; if not, why not?

Hon DAVID CARTER: Because I have just explained to the member that under the Pork Industry Board Act 1997 I have no statutory role in respect of that particular board’s adherence to the Official Information Act. If the member has a concern about that, she should know to raise it with the Ombudsman.

Sue Kedgley: Is it not the case that it could take many months, possibly a year, for a complaint to be investigated by the Ombudsman, and is he really claiming that he has no power or no influence over the Pork Industry Board as Minister of Agriculture to force it to release these audits that it is seeking to suppress?

Hon DAVID CARTER: Yes, that is exactly what I am telling the member.

Sue Kedgley: Does he support the Pork Industry Board’s latest ploy, which is to introduce a new label to assure consumers that pork is “welfare approved” while at the very same time seeking to suppress critical parts of the Pork Industry Board’s audit on which the “welfare approved” label is based?

Hon DAVID CARTER: It is not for me to judge the effectiveness of the Pork Industry Board’s public relations exercise; that is for the consumers of New Zealand pork.

Sue Kedgley: Has he had the opportunity to view the footage of sows on an intensive pig farm that screened on television last night that showed sows with bleeding sores, abscesses, and flesh wounds; if so, does he agree with the piggery owner, Colin Kaye, that there are no welfare concerns at this piggery?

Hon DAVID CARTER: I did not have the opportunity to view any footage last night. I did see some footage—I think it was last Friday night—and to me some of the photographs of pigs were not satisfactory.

Sue Kedgley: When can we expect the new pig code to be released, given that he publicly promised that it would be released last year and submissions closed in April of this year?

Hon DAVID CARTER: It is certainly of some frustration to me that it has not been released, but, as the member knows, a legal challenge was threatened by the Pork Industry Board. At this stage, I understand that the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is close to finalising its submission process and delivering a draft code, which will then be subject to international peer review. So I hope to receive it sometime around October to November. It is certainly my intention to action it as quickly as possible.

Sue Kedgley: Does he agree that the public are getting fed up with the efforts of the Pork Industry Board to delay the release of the new pig code by legal obfuscation, to continue using sow crates, to hide information from the public, and to keep conditions on pig farms secret? Does he not think that the public will be incredulous that he as Minister of Agriculture is effectively sitting on his hands and doing nothing in the face of this prolonged procrastination?

Hon DAVID CARTER: We certainly want the process to be done properly so that it is thorough and long-lasting. It is worthwhile noting that there have been over 20,000 submissions on the draft code, and that is one reason why it has taken some time. The member knows that she was part of the process to wind up many of those 20,000 submissions.