MEDIA RELEASE

24 March 2011

Can you export a biosecurity incursion from NZ into NZ?

The pastoral sector has told the Select Committee reviewing the Biosecurity Law Reform Bill, that exporters and taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to pay for import biosecurity.

“Farmers understand the need to have biosecurity based on sound risk management principles and science. That thinking is why we have major concerns over parts of the Biosecurity Law Reform Bill,” says Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President.

“To Federated Farmers, this Bill is about transferring the cost of biosecurity onto landowners with a lessening of the priority given to border clearance. That includes vital pre-clearance measures like Import Health Standards and off-shore inspection.

“We’re not prepared to wave the white flag on biosecurity. While technology has its place, television’s Border Patrol proves that the ‘Mark I eyeball’ works as well. That’s only a fraction given thousands of containers come into New Zealand on ships and aircraft each week.

“The pastoral sector is shocked the Bill contains Government Industry Agreements (GIA’s) to force exporters into sharing the cost of fighting future biosecurity incursions with Government.

“The weird logic with GIA’s is that you can somehow export from New Zealand, a biosecurity incursion into New Zealand.

“Given 100 percent of the risk comes from imports and imports alone, that’s where the focus for meeting the cost of any incursion response needs to come from.

“The Bill further concerns us through the proposed lessening of border clearance activity including Import Health Standards. The Government’s eye is on the response, an ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’, rather than on keeping nasties out in the first place.

“It also reflects a conflict between border security and getting visitors quickly into the country, but you cannot tell me a few minutes longer is a deal breaker for a visitor.

“What’s an affront to Federated Farmers, given how we’ve been praised for the prompt response to recent earthquakes and storms, is that we’re being shut out from Government-Industry discussions on biosecurity because we don’t bring cash.

“After the earthquake, Federated Farmers led over $1 million worth of voluntary time and effort to help Christchurch. This is the ‘in-kind’ contribution we’d make in any biosecurity crisis, but that’s not currently registering with Government and that’s got to change.

“Forget clean-green and 100% Pure because New Zealand’s real reputation is based on biosecurity, integrity, food safety and trust,” Mr Nicolson concluded.

For a copy of Federated Farmers submission on the Biosecurity Law Reform Bill, please click here.

ENDS

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