Northland MP Winston Peters believes New Zealanders would be stunned to learn how little the Minister of Conservation and National were putting into pest and weed control on the Conservation Estate.
"Minister Maggie Barry on Conservation is just like how Maori viewed James Busby in the 19th Century - a 'man-o-war without guns'," Mr Peters said.
"To protect more than 8.6 million hectares of the Conservation Estate from animal pests, this government is spending a pitiful $5.31 per hectare and just $1.64 a hectare to fight weeds. Even these sums are a recent improvement on what National has previously spent.
"In January 2014, another man-o-war without guns, Dr Nick Smith, beat his chest over the so-called Battle for our Birds. To save each of the 25 million birds he claimed were being killed each year by pests, his government increased spending by just 28 cents a bird.
"But what did Maggie Barry do after succeeding Dr Smith in her first Budget? She cut DOC's animal pest budget by $6.7 million and weed and wilding conifer control by $901,000. She has made up for these short-sighted cuts in the current Budget, but that includes multi-year spending that demands multiplication to make it look reasonable.
Minister Barry cannot hide under-investment in seven of the previous eight Conservation budgets."
