Why our future depends on taking biosecurity seriously
OPINION: When it comes to biosecurity, we often hear about the end of a response, but it’s the beginning that helps determine our success.
Ministry for Primary Industries staff have intercepted four Queensland fruit fly larvae at Wellington airport, stopping the dangerous pest from making a home in New Zealand.
The larvae were found earlier this month in an undeclared mandarin carried by an Australian passenger arriving from Melbourne. They have since been confirmed as Queensland fruit fly – regarded as one of the worst horticultural pests in the world.
"One of our quarantine officers detected the fruit when the passenger's bag went through an MPI biosecurity x-ray machine. Another officer discovered insect damage on the mandarin and pulled the skin off, finding the larvae nestled inside," says Andrew Spelman, MPI border clearance manager, Central and South Region.
"Keeping fruit fly out of New Zealand is one of our highest priorities. The Wellington interception shows the value of MPI’s biosecurity x-ray technology, which has been upgraded over the past few years."
So far this year, MPI staff have made 11 fruit fly interceptions at the border.
MPI checks all produce seized from arriving passengers for signs of pests or diseases, says Spelman. It also checks organic material disposed in MPI amnesty bins at airports and ports.
The Australian traveller received a $400 fine for failing to declare the mandarin.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
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