Beef, lamb and the South Island

Maureen Pugh, National MP for West Coast - Tasman

Recently, I attended the National Lamb Day barbeque that Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay, hosted marking the anniversary of that special day in 1882 when our first frozen lamb export shipment headed overseas.

It really was wonderful to be part of an event which acknowledged the importance that agriculture is to the Kiwi economy.  Sheep and beef farmers contribute an annual $10b in export revenue. For the person in the street, this is a meaningful $3,300 income each year for every New Zealand household helping to grow the economy and easing the cost of living. I was pleased to play my part in that market with the recent sending of beautiful Angus cattle and a good number of sheep.

Significant weather events and some challenging commodity prices have made the last few years tough, but farmer confidence is rising and with sheep meat prices exceeding the five-year average at the end of last year and rising demand from key red meat markets, there are real growth opportunities on the horizon.

We are focused on new growth markets for our red meat, particularly in the Middle East region.

New Zealand lamb continues to be celebrated and enjoyed on tables around the world. National Lamb Day at Parliament honoured the pioneering spirit and the hard work and resilience of our farmers, processors and exporters which has made New Zealand’s red meat sector world class and poised for further growth.

I want to congratulate my colleague and Rangitata MP James Meager on his appointment as first-ever Minister for the South Island. His role puts serious attention on the area which currently contributes 22% to this country’s annual Gross Domestic Product.

He will be listening to the Councils and businesses who are generating growth about what they need to succeed, often with projects that have been mooted for years, but need a key ingredient to become a reality.

The new Minister is focused on advocacy for safe and reliable infrastructure and connectivity projects along with renewable energy and water resource initiatives that are good for both the economy and environment.

The South Island has a big part to play in New Zealand’s growth strategy. Proposals and ideas for growth now have one channel for advocacy which will ensure coordination of Government resources to get great outcomes.

Minister for the South Island James Meager is planning to visit the regions over the next few weeks and I look forward to being able to show him areas in West Coast-Tasman that have great potential to contribute to the Government’s economic growth strategy.