David Carter

Wellington, Jan 29 NZPA - Agriculture Minister David Carter says a policy of using bonds to keep veterinarians in rural areas is in the final stages of Cabinet approval.

The policy will involve payments of a "significant annual amount" to vets who work in rural areas identified as having a shortage, either to repay their student loans or in cash if they had no loan, he said today.

Mr Carter made the disclosure while touring the Institute of Veterinary Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University's Palmerston North campus.

During the election campaign last October Mr Carter promised to provide voluntary "bonding" to keep veterinarians and doctors in unpopular rural areas.

"Rural veterinarians play an essential role in maintaining high standards of animal welfare, biosecurity, and food safety," he said at the time.

"Their severe shortage poses a critical threat to our pastoral farming model and is a major concern."

National predicted that the cost of such a scheme would be $1.5 million in the first year, rising to $3 million in the second, and $4.5 million in the third year, and could be met by cutting other spending in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF).

Mr Carter also promised during the campaign to consider setting up scholarships to encourage more students from rural backgrounds to study veterinary science, and to work with Massey University, and veterinarians to address structural problems contributing to the rural veterinary shortage.

More than a third of the veterinarians who have graduated from Massey University over the past 14 years are not practising in New Zealand, and only 62 percent of new graduate veterinarians from the taxpayer-subsidised course have remained in the veterinary workforce in this country.

At Massey's veterinary teaching hospital, Mr Carter said today the Government was counting on the university, which has New Zealand's only vet school, to increase the number of graduates.

Institute head Professor Grant Guilford said that with Government support the five-year bachelor of veterinary science degree could have an extra 45 students in each year: 30 domestic and 15 international students.

NZPA WGT kca kk nb