Biosecurity in New Zealand

  
Biosecurity in New Zealand is changing.
Which is a good thing because the current system is not working.
Recent unwanted arrivals have had serious impacts on some industries

• PSA in Kiwifruit
• The psyllid & liberibacter in the potato, tomato and tamarillo industries
• The Hadda beetle in vegetables
• Varroa
• The undetected arrival of potentially damaging strawberry seeds from China

The ramifications of these unwanted arrivals has been felt throughout the horticulture sector, not just the affected industries themselves.
The costs have been high and industries have been paying.
So it’s time for a better system.
Enter Government Industry Agreements.
 

Government Industry Agreements

Government Industry Agreements - or GIA  - is loosely modelled on Plant Health Australia and is developed around partnerships between industry and government to minimise the biosecurity risks posed by unwanted pests and diseases.
Already several years in the making GIA still has a way to go before it is finished and has become something that we could work with.

The big downside for many of us is the cost to growers of being involved in GIA.
Unfortunately there is a cost of failing biosecurity as well. Just ask the tamarillo industry.
So while many growers may not like GIA we have to consider the potential advantages that GIA may bring our industry.
We are currently conducting the initial value proposition, to determine whether there is a need for the summerfruit industry to sign up to GIA.
 

• We want robust protection for our industry.
• We want to ensure the sustainability and profitability of growers.
• We want to protect the communities that rely on our industry and our international markets.
• We need biosecurity systems that are comprehensive and utterly reliable.
• So we continue to participate in the discussions with MPI, though not directly represented at the table.
• The involvement of Peter Silcock (Hort NZ) in the GIA working Group ensures a strong horticultural presence.
• The final decision to sign up however will lay with growers.

Watch this space for more news on GIA as it develops.


Check out a couple of recent articles by Jon Morgan writing in the Dominion Post on the issue of Biosecurity and GIA
Little Aussie Criminals
MPI Hadda-a-go but failed