Rangitata MP Jo Luxton, Laurence Rooney, Honer Rooney (7) and Agricultural Minister Damien O'Connor at the Rooney Farm on Tuesday. Photo / LDR / Adam Burns
Adam Burns, Local Democracy Reporter
"I wouldn't want to go through this again."
This was the enduring feeling for dairy farmer Laurence Rooney who believes he would have been better off if his farm caught M. bovis after "taking a hit" for the Ashburton town during the May floods.
Laurence and Philippa Rooney received a fleeting visit from the Agricultural Minister Damien O'Connor on Tuesday to his flood-ravaged Ashburton Forks property and are facing a long farming and financial road after losing half of its herd during the May 30-31 Canterbury floods.
Rooney said it was good to illustrate the scale of the impact to the Minister.
"More people in his position need to see this," he said.
"We're not holding our breath for any favours though."
Their farm, which sits ominously close to the North Branch of the Ashburton River, copped a battering and the family was expecting about $500,000 worth of damage and a "million dollars in lost income".
"We would've been better off getting M.bovis and culling the herd starting from scratch," Rooney said.
The Ministry for Primary Industries paid out more than $180 million for M.bovis compensation last year.
"We have to help with immediate recovery," O'Connor said.
Rangitata MP Jo Luxton, who joined O'Connor at the Rooney's property, said it was good for the Minister to see the extent of the impact now that the water had subsided.