Govt bio-security bad for Bay

Winston Peters spoke to a crowd of about 300 people on Saturday, saying aspects of this year's Budget were "alarming" for the Bay of Plenty region. Photo/Rebecca Savory

Winston Peters supporters packed out a Tauranga hall this weekend to hear his warning the Governments spend on bio-security was alarming for Tauranga and the Western Bay.

The New Zealand First leader drew about 300 people to the Hotel Armitage to listen to his views on the 2014 Budget.

"To pack a hall out in Tauranga with standing room only is very impressive on a Saturday," Mr Peters told the Bay of Plenty Times.

"For the Bay of Plenty region the fact the Government spent less than they budgeted for on bio-security last year was alarming," he said.

There had already been scores of cuts in crucial public service areas such as conservation and bio-security. "That is alarming for Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty."

"The Kiwifruit industry has already suffered massively from the Psa incursion, yet the Government continues to play with fire by seriously underfunding biosecurity."

The estimated actual spend on border bio-security risk management released in last weeks budget documents was more than $1 million less than what was budgeted, he pointed out.

"Bio-security is a serious concern and certainly there is enormous concern at the coal face of the issue, so much so that a foot and mouth outbreak in this country is not an if but a when now," Mr Peters told the Bay of Plenty Times.

The rising New Zealand dollar was also a huge problem for Tauranga, he later said.

"Tauranga is based on an export economy. Wev'e got a dollar that's heading towards US.92, which is hugely harmful. There's nothing in the budget to deal with that at all," he said.

"It was a budget for a few and the very few. In short, to be fair, it was a budget in which Nationals cronies got cake and Kiwis got the crumbs," he said in his speech, stressing the gap between "rich" and poor was growing.

He said the budget had "no plan to rapidly grow our exports, no plan to save our way out of dependence on foreign money, no real plan by taxation incentives to grow and diversify the economy and no plan to put the shared interests of a massive majority of New Zealander's first."

Mr Peters said the country's debt was in a vulnerable place.

"When National came in Crown Debt was $10 billion. Now it is $60 billion, up six times," he said. "If something small goes wrong, were in big trouble. Were very vulnerable now."

Questions from the crowd focused on immigration, foreigners in our prisons, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and jobs for graduates.

Neither Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, Bay of Plenty MP Tony Ryall or Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy could be reached for comment before this paper went to print.