Minister of Agriculture and BioSecurity Damien O'Connor is seeking a 40 percent contribution from farmers for the cost of tackling the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis. It could cost the industry around $400 million. National says the government is "heavying" farmers over the issue. Nathan Guy is the Opposition spokesman for agriculture. He talks to Guyon Espiner.
"The reason that compensation is paid is so anyone, when they have any particular biosecurity issue on their particular property ... they can put their hand up and say 'hey, we've got this suspect disease on our property, can you come and investigate'.
"So it's self-referral knowing that they will be compensated. If you don't have compensation from the Crown you bury these issues underground and as a result when the crown suddenly gets onto it the disease or the pest is rife."
He says the Minister also does not have the power to stray from the GIA.
"Farmers and growers have signed up to this knowing that there's an escalator when a response steps up and depending on what particular one it is, that they need to pay more.
"If we had foot and mouth disease, they'd be in for 50 percent contribution from the start, that's a given. M bovis is a lot lower that that so the minister is now well outside the GIA framework and so this has caused a huge amount of concern now for all the other industries.
"I've had a lot of people contact me this week saying 'holy hell if the minister's going to try and bully the cattle industries what does it mean for everyone else who's signed up in good faith, growers and beekeepers and the like."
The $400m figure for farmers is "a very scary number", he says.
