ACT says public service union undermined NZ’s red meat export sector
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
ACT has accused the Public Service Association (PSA) of an “utterly reckless attempt to cast doubt” on the quality of New Zealand meat exports.
On Wednesday The Post reported the union had written to US and Chinese embassies warning them of the potential for changes to how meat is inspected for food safety issues before it’s sent to market.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) was working with AsureQuality and industry to develop a programme of work to review the inspection and supervision requirements. There were no specific proposals but it was investigating ways to “allow New Zealand to maintain our high standards in a more flexible and efficient way”.
The sector is wanting a self-inspection approach, overseen by Government officials, to make inspections more flexible. But those in the sector are worried what this means for quality control, with the union saying self-inspection comes with inevitable conflict.
The PSA had written to both the Chinese and US Ambassadors “to raise our concerns about the move towards private meat inspection, and we've requested a meeting with them”, national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said, but hadn’t had a response.
ACT’s rural communities spokesperson Mark Cameron said the union had attempted to “undermine the reputation of our world-class meat industry” and its actions “bordered on sabotage”.
“At the first whiff of the possibility its members might face more competition in meat inspection, the Public Service Association has cried to foreign embassies,' Cameron said.
'It's an utterly reckless attempt to cast doubt on the quality of our exports, with no evidence and when proposals haven't even been put out for consultation yet.”
Fitzsimons responded saying the PSA “is standing up for the independence of meat inspection because public safety and New Zealand’s international reputation relies on it”.
ACT was putting New Zealand’s exports at risk “through its ideological commitment to privatisation”.
“All it would take under ACT’s proposed regime is for one company to cut corners and export contaminated meat to put our entire agricultural export sector in jeopardy.”
Fitzsimons said the current system “works because inspectors make decisions based purely on food safety, without commercial pressure”.
“Put inspectors on meat company payrolls and you create obvious conflicts of interest that risk undermining the very reputation ACT claims to defend.”
Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard peviously said he was confident any changes would not impact on relationships with trading partners.
The United States was the most valuable red meat export market last year, followed by China, the UK, Japan and Canada. In May US red meat exports were worth $327m, and China $240m.