Nathan Guy says the Ministry for Primary Industries has been too slow in its compensation for farmers with properties affected by Mycoplasma bovis.
Guy was critical of Minister Damien O'Connor's performance in getting money out of the Government for M. bovis claims.
"It has been embarrassingly slow. There's still over 40 claims waiting to be compensated for and had I been in his role, and unfortunately I'm not, I would have been lobbying hard for my colleagues to get that funding a lot earlier."
Guy spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay today saying the next question for the Government is whether it will focus on eradicating Mycoplasma bovis or "surrender" and put funding toward students' tertiary fees "rather than supporting our rural communities."
Jamie Mackay points out that the Government has allocated $85 million for the operational and compensation costs as a response to the M. bovis outbreak but Guy wonders where the funding comes from as the budget is "very, very tight."
