Tag Archives: John Key

Nathan Guy new Primary Industries Minister

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Nathan GuyNathan Guy has been appointed as the new Primary Industries Minister as a result of the Prime Minister’s re-shuffle of Cabinet today.

David Carter, the current Minister for Primary Industries, will be the Government’s nominee for Speaker of the House following the departure of Dr Lockwood Smith.

The Prime Minister, John Key, took the opportunity presented by the change of speaker to look at the Cabinet line-up as a whole, “in the context of the Government’s priorities,” he said.

Primary Industries changes

Former farm manager, Nathan Guy, MP for Otaki, is the current Associate MiJo Goodhewnister for Primary Industries and was widely tipped as a favourite for the position. The 43 year old is a Massey University agriculture graduate who has also undertaken a number of study scholarships including a Kelloggs Rural Leadership course, a Winston Churchill Fellowship to the US and has also won a number of farming awards. From the meat industry perspective he is a former member of the Meat Research Advisory Committee and a former chairperson of Central Districts and Wairarapa’s New Zealand Beef Council, for which he was also deputy chairperson.  Jo Goodhew, member for Rangitata and a former nurse, will assist Guy in the Associate Minister position.

Food Safety

Nikki KayeFormer Food Safety Minister Kate Wilkinson will leave cabinet and will be replaced by 33 year old Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye. Kaye will take up the portfolios for Food Safety, Youth Affairs and Civil Defence. She will also be Associate Education Minister, reflecting her work as chair of the education select committee.

Other

Dr Nick Smith will return to Cabinet in the Housing and Conservation portfolios and Chris Tremain is to be appointed to Local Government.

The changes will take effect on 31 January, when the Governor-General appoints the new Ministers and all the necessary paperwork will have been completed.

“The refreshed Ministerial team is ready to continue the Government’s focus on is four key priorities for this term  – responsibly managing the Government’s finances, building a more competitive and productive economy, delivering better public services within fiscal restraints and supporting the rebuilding of Christchurch,” says Key.

Silver Fern Farms’ Te Aroha opening

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Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

Prime Minister opens new SFF Te Aroha plant

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Pictured at the Te Aroha opening are (left to right): local MP Scott Simpson; John Key; Eoin Garden chairman Silver Fern Farms; Keith Cooper, chief executive Silver Fern Farms; Kevin Winders, chief operating officer Silver Fern Farms.

Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Key opened Silver Fern Farms’ brand new flagship processing plant at Te Aroha this afternoon.

The new plant, the first to be built by the farmer co-operative under its current name Silver Fern Farms, replaces the beef processing plant seriously damaged by fire on the site in December 2010.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of central and local government, local iwi, and members of the Te Aroha community in addition to Silver Fern Farms’ board of directors, leadership team, plant management and contractors involved in the project.

Silver Fern Farms’ chairman, Eoin Garden, and chief executive, Keith Cooper, welcomed a large gathering of all those associated with the rebuild including contractors, local government representatives, local iwi and members of the Te Aroha community.

At the opening, Garden said the investment of $67m to commission the state-of-the-art facility was testament to the co-operative’s strong confidence in the sector and he indicated the clear alignment of this investment with the Government’s business growth agenda.

Keith Cooper spoke of the importance this plant has, not only to farmer-suppliers in the surrounding rural areas, but also to the local Te Aroha community. The fact the plant will be fully operational ahead of the new season is welcome news for the township, with the prospect it will employ up to 380 staff when operating at full capacity.

“The whole community has been behind the project every step of the way” said Te Aroha plant manager, Lance Warmington. “The company’s commitment to rebuilding Te Aroha is a big deal here – it means future security for hundreds of families in the area.”

Positive spin-offs for local community

Throughout the rebuilding process, Silver Fern Farms endeavoured to provide alternative options for staff whose livelihoods were affected by the fire, to the extent of making positions available at neighbouring plants and providing accommodation supplements in the early stages. In tough times, the company’s significant capital spend also has provided positive spin-offs to the local economy as a result of the number of contractors throughout the region engaged during the course of construction.

“Our whole team are extremely proud of the facility we’ve designed and created,” Warmington added.

“The company culture and the Silver Fern Farms brand and all it stands for are really embedded in the overall look and feel of the new plant, and our people are responding really positively to the new working environment.”

Eco-efficiency and sustainability “top of mind”

Developed in consultation with internationally recognised experts in process layout and ergonomics, the plant incorporates the latest meat processing technologies, including sophisticated traceability and yield collection systems. Cooper said the new design reflects the company’s focus on plant economics and best practice processing, and that eco-efficiency and sustainability were top of mind considerations.

“The rebuild gave us the opportunity to review the environmental footprint of our operation. Our focus is improving environmental efficiency while reducing costs through better use of resources and reduction of waste.” he said . “As a result, the plant sets a new industry benchmark in line with global customer requirements – it uses significantly less electricity and water per head and discharges less effluent per head processed.”

In his address, Cooper also thanked the co-operative’s loyal farmer-suppliers in the area for supporting the company through the re-build.

“We are grateful to those suppliers who have stood by us and persevered while we got the new plant up and running – we know the disruption has been an inconvenience for many. But we are enthusiastic about the service levels and advantages we can now offer them as a result of our investment.”

Silver Fern Farms intends to open the plant to farmer-suppliers and the local community in a series of open days in February 2013.

 

Business as usual for exports to US, with TPP next focus

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It’s business as usual for New Zealand meat exporters following the re-election of United States President Obama for another four year term, but it’s not time to relax.

Prime Minister John Key has already congratulated the President on his “hard fought victory” and re-election, tweeting last night that he looks forward to further developing the close and enduring relationship between the two countries.

“There will be many opportunities to enhance the relationship, which is built on shared values and a commitment to improve the prosperity and well-being of our people through initiatives such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).”

Two-way trade with the US is valued at over $8 billion and the US is a leading source of investment, innovation and business ideas, says the NZ US Council. It is actively engaged in co-ordinating business and government efforts towards concluding a comprehensive, high quality result to the TPP negotiations.

NZUS Council executive director Stephen Jacobi comments that now the election has been decided, it’s positive news for exporters that there will be some certainty over the next four years.

“It’s business as usual for the relationship.”

President Obama will be very energised over his second term he notes. However, that the President will have to work hard on bringing the Republicans with him.

“The TPP initiative is good, in that it is something that can unite both sides, which will have a positive impact on the negotiations.”

The President’s biggest challenge is the state of the US economy, currently facing a ‘fiscal cliff’, and his ability to avoid a complete gridlock between Senate with its Democrat majority and the primarily Republican House of Representatives.

“How he deals with that has implications for New Zealand meat exporters as it will impact on the exchange rate,” says Jacobi, adding that one of the current US solutions – printing money – is bringing the value of their dollar down but is forcing the Kiwi dollar up, making it difficult for New Zealand exporters to operate.

With the Republicans advocating for more farm subsidies, keeping an eye on progress in the US Farm Bill will be important for New Zealand meat exporters too.

The focus now is the next TPP round of talks which take place in Auckland 3-12 December with New Zealand in the chair and hundreds of negotiators from around the Asia-Pacific attending the meeting. It is fortunate that the chief US negotiator remains unchanged, with Barbara Weisel remaining in her position. However, it’s important to note everything won’t be finalised at that meeting. “It’s a continuing process but Auckland will set out how negotiations will roll out in 2013,” says Jacobi, adding that 2013 is expected to see finalisation of the agreement.

Beef will be on the agenda as Canada and Mexico join the table as full members for the first time. Jacobi says he will also be interested to see how other economies, such as Japan, react to the election news as it may speed up their entry to the trade agreement.

The concern for Jacobi is the anti-globalisation movement, which is expected to be active around the time of the talks. He calls for industry, companies and farmers to stand together to explain why it’s important for New Zealand to be in the trade negotiations.

“We need to add our voice to the multitude in support of the negotiations,” he says.

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The US election may bring little change to the Senate agriculture committee with the Democrats retaining control according to Food Business News, while retirements factor into the House of Representatives’ agriculture committee with the Republicans maintaining control there. The finance committees face a similar scenario, says Jacobi. It is likely, however, that there will be a new US trade adviser. Mike Froman, currently assistant to the President and deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs – and a former Harvard classmate of Obama’s – is hotly tipped for the job.