Thursday, 05 November 2015 13:12

Forestry joins biosecurity club

Written by 
The extra $27 million in the 2015 Budget to fund more detector dogs, x-ray machines and inspectors. The extra $27 million in the 2015 Budget to fund more detector dogs, x-ray machines and inspectors.

The forestry industry has become the sixth industry group to join the Government Industry Agreement (GIA) biosecurity partnership.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says, "It's great to forest owners working with the Ministry for Primary Industries to manage and respond to the most important biosecurity risks,

"A growing number of industries have now signed up to work together with the Government through the GIA."

Associate Minister Jo Goodhew says MPI has worked with the forestry sector in biosecurity surveillance for over 50 years, looking out for potential forestry pests that can cause serious disease to trees and threaten the forestry industry. This government-industry relationship will be further enhanced under GIA,

"Forestry is New Zealand's third largest export earner behind dairy and meat, earning around $4.6 billion in exports. Protection from unwanted pests and diseases is very important to this major industry."

Guys says biosecurity is his main priority as MPI minister, as shown in the extra $27 million in the 2015 Budget to fund more detector dogs, x-ray machines and inspectors.

"We also have the new passenger levy, which will mean increasing passenger numbers will fund services at the border from next year onwards," says Guy.

"Biosecurity is a shared responsibility and we need the input of industry and the wider public to make the system as effective as possible."

The Forestry Owners Association joins Kiwifruit Vine Health, Pipfruit New Zealand, New Zealand Pork, New Zealand Equine Health Association and Onions New Zealand under GIA.

More like this

Bikinis in cowshed

OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content posted on social media and adult entertainment subscription site OnlyFans.

Featured

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.

B+LNZ launches AI assistant for farmers

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter