Agriculture Minister David Carter told Parliament today he
can't force the Pork Industry Board to disclose information
about the state of piggeries.
The board carried out a nationwide audit of piggeries after
reports that in some of them pigs were suffering in sow
crates, but it doesn't want the results made public and is
looking for ways to get around the Official Information Act.
It thinks that if the piggery reports are held by individual
farmers, the information will be outside the scope of the Act
and the industry can be saved from embarrassment.
Green Party MP Sue Kedgley asked Mr Carter in Parliament what
he was going to do about the board "deliberately evading the
Official Information Act".
Mr Carter said he wasn't going to do anything.
"Under the Pork Industry Board Act I have no statutory role
in that particular board's adherence to the Official
Information Act," he said.
He told Ms Kedgley she should complain to the Ombudsman,
which didn't please the MP.
"Is he really claiming he has no power, or no influence, over
the Pork Industry Board to force it to release these audits
that it is seeking to suppress?" she asked.
"Yes, exactly," Mr Carter replied.
Ms Kedgley said it was a serious offence for a statutory
board to try to evade the provisions of the Act and Mr Carter
should sack the directors who had "conspired to circumvent
it".
Mr Carter again said he had no powers relating to the board
and the Act.
Ms Kedgley said the board was also trying to delay the
introduction of a new animal welfare code for pigs and asked
Mr Carter when he expected to implement it.
Mr Carter said there had been more than 20,000 submissions on
the proposed code, and Ms Kedgley had "wound up" many of
them.
He said he expected to receive it around October and would
implement it as soon as possible.
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