Listen: The NAIT debate - 'A step too far'

File Photo / Alan Gibson

Changes to the NAIT Amendment Bill, which was passed under urgency last Thursday, have been causing debate in the rural community.

The Bill makes changes to the Act which will allow for warrantless inspections of farms, clarifies animal movement requirements, and makes it an offence not to record animal movements.

DairyNZ and Beef & Lamb New Zealand have welcomed the change and Federated Farmers President Katie Milne has called for people to "keep the baby in the bath water," when it comes to concerns surrounding the legislation.

There is some confusion here - the 38 recommendations of the NAIT review are supported and the others were additions that were rushed through under urgency that were not part of the original and known 38. Let’s keep the baby in the bath water people.

— Katie Milne (@ktmilne6) August 20, 2018

Andy Thompson and Don Nicolson do not agree, and spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay about their concerns over the Bill, with Thompson saying it is a betrayal.

"Last week the New Zealand farmers were betrayed by their Parliament ... no one's arguing we need to do what we can do to keep M. bovis under control, but to bring the 2012 Search and Surveillance Act and put that into the NAIT act - which basically was designed to combat terrorism - has got to be a step too far."

Thompson is also concerned that the press releases from DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand will lead people to believe that all farmers are supportive of the Bill when he says they're not.

"They don't support it, it's appalling behaviour."

Listen below:

Don Nicolson is also scathing of the NAIT Amendment Bill, saying "protection of the property rights, protection of the private space ... are vital and this country is eroding those private rights daily."

Warrantless searches mean that MPI could walk on to any farm without notice, but Minister for Agriculture Damien O'Connor has recently said it will still need justification before doing so and the legislation was introduced to stop farmers having time to destroy evidence before MPI could access their property.

Mackay asks if stopping the spread of Mycoplasma bovis is more important than the privacy rights of farmers.

"Border protection is the number one issue in my thinking Jamie," says Nicolson, "that's where our surveillance should really be higher."

Thompson says most farmers support MPI's actions to eradicate M. bovis but this is a step too far.

"I'm still yet to be convinced that they needed to go to the step here in biosecurity and create such a situation where civil liberties are eroded to this level ... I have not seen yet any justification from Damien [O'Connor] or from MPI as to why they felt it necessary."