David Carter
14 December, 2010
National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill 2010 – First Reading
Mr Speaker, I move that the National Animal Identification and Tracing Bill be now read a first time.
At the appropriate time, I intend to move that the Bill be considered by the Primary Production Select Committee.
Mr Speaker, New Zealand has a highly effective biosecurity system to manage the risks posed by harmful organisms,
including the risks to our very important livestock industries.
Actively managing these biosecurity risks maintains or enhances New Zealand’s already high reputation for quality animal
products and our access to premium markets. Other countries are increasingly moving to mandatory individual tracing
systems for their livestock. We cannot afford to lag behind our competitors.
It is vital during an animal disease outbreak to quickly find out the extent of the problem and start to manage it. This
requires good knowledge of where infected animals are and the other animals they have been in contact with.
The National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme, or NAIT, will meet this need by collecting information on
animals, their location, and movement history throughout their lifetime. This means we can more quickly and effectively
target our resources to contain and manage a biosecurity or product contamination event, and provide evidence to
reassure our trading partners.
The NAIT scheme will also improve consumer confidence, by providing more background information about the source of food
products, to support general trade and high-value niche markets. And it will support management of adverse events, such
as drought.
NAIT will benefit both the country as a whole, and the industries and individual farmers involved.
The NAIT scheme is a partnership between industry and the Crown, which started in 2004 in recognition of the growing
need for better animal identification and tracing systems. These livestock and animal products industries continue to be
key partners in developing and implementing NAIT. I would like to pay tribute to their involvement and constructive
approach.
I also know that there are members on the opposite side of the House who approved the development of NAIT in its earlier
stages. I would like to thank them too, for their contribution.
NAIT will begin with cattle and deer, which already have some identification and paper-based tracing schemes in place.
NAIT will, however, introduce radio frequency identification tags and a computerised database to accurately record the
details of individual animals and their movement histories.
Mr Speaker, the NAIT Bill sets out the basic requirements needed to make NAIT work. This includes the governance
arrangements, and the powers and functions of the organisation that will run the NAIT scheme. NAIT will need to be
flexible, to allow for changing information needs. The Bill will enable regulations to prescribe the detailed
requirements for the animal sector or sectors covered by NAIT.
Mr Speaker, people who are in charge of animals covered by this Bill, such as farmers, saleyard operators and meat
processors, will be responsible for recording and updating information on the NAIT database.
But the value of NAIT goes beyond the information that this Bill will require. The NAIT infrastructure provides industry
with a much more efficient way of holding its own animal-related data, such as genetic history and production data, if
it chooses. Improving on-farm management will help New Zealand farmers expand their comparative advantage.
Mr Speaker, this Government is conscious of the need to protect the personal and commercially sensitive information from
misuse. While people will be able to access their own data, government agencies responsible for biosecurity and food
safety may only access personal data for the purposes for which it was collected under the Bill.
The data needs to be protected, but at the same time it represents a valuable source for research and statistics.
Permission may be granted to access non-personal information, if it is in the interests of the industry and the public
good.
Many dairy farmers currently use commercial organisations to complete their herd recording and herd testing
requirements. This approach will continue under the NAIT scheme.
After NAIT becomes law, the emphasis will be on educating people on the new requirements. But we are dealing with
important measures to improve biosecurity and maintain our international markets. We must have sanctions against people
who deliberately evade their responsibilities, or put the integrity of NAIT in doubt.
The Bill includes some offences and penalties. The highest penalties are appropriate for knowingly accessing or
disclosing information about an individual, or commercially sensitive information.
Industry and the Crown will share the running costs of NAIT, with the Bill setting out the principles for industry cost
recovery.
Other regulations may be made to help implement the Bill. This includes the mechanism to add or remove species from
mandatory NAIT coverage following a proper process. The type of animal identification, and whether it is for individual
animals or for groups of animals, such as herds, will be assessed for each species in consultation with that industry.
In conclusion, this Bill establishes a scheme that will provide accurate and timely identification and tracing of
livestock at least cost. This will protect New Zealand farmers in the marketplace, bring us into line with most other
agricultural producing nations and strengthen our already excellent biosecurity system.
Mr Speaker, I commend this Bill to the House.
ENDS