Posted on 18-12-2002

Biosecurity On The Cheap
by Alan Marston

The New Zealand Labour Government yesterday released a draft Biosecurity
Strategy as a step towards the protection of New Zealand's environment from
pests and diseases. Bold move or flannel? An important question because New
Zealander's, particlularly those near major ports, are suffering right now
from massive and poisonous clean-up attempts by MAF after invasion by pests
like Argentine ants, red fire ants, Chinese mitten crabs, European shore
(green) crabs, Mediterranean fan worms, exotic mosquitoes,... and the
really serious pests are still waiting in the wings.

The Labour Party initiated opening of New Zealand's borders in the 1980's
to everything, money, people, goods is hardly likely to have zero effect on
the other things that move around the world, diseases, pests and pollution.
Yet the response to an obvious increase in the latter has been a decrease
in the funding for border bio-security, cheapness has prevailed. New
Zealand's biosecurity systems are under great and ever increasing pressure
from increasing travel and trade. Twenty years on the `new plan' does not
go far enough in protecting the country from invasive plants and animals.

The government's multi-agency Biosecurity Council released the draft
Biosecurity Strategy today. Public comments are said to be welcome, and the
final round of consultation will close on February 28, 2003. As usual the
fatuous call for comment accompanies the announcement. Online contributions
can be made at the government website, govt.nz

The government says its intends to finalize the Biosecurity Strategy before
June 2003, after analyzing submissions and assessing strategic and
operational policy options. Maybe they should watch PTV's programme
`Foreign Organisms' (See PTV in this site index), where Aucklanders
complain bitterly of the government attitude whereby free-trade is god and
people and the rest of the natural environment come somewhat further down
in the list of priorities.

Forest and Bird's Biosecurity Awareness Officer, Geoff Keey, said, "New
Zealand's natural environment is being attacked by a deluge of pests. Some
like rats, stoats and ferrets came a long time ago. Others like painted
apple moth are new arrivals." The painted apple moth (Teia anartoides), a
native of Australia, was first found in the west Auckland suburb of
Glendene in May 1999. There is an ongoing program to eradicate it with
aerial spray of insecticide that is fiercely protested against (see above).
"The controversy around painted apple moth and the recent discovery that
red backed spiders had sneaked past the border shows how important it is to
do border inspections properly the first time. Aucklanders won't want to be
sprayed from a DC3 every couple of years because yet another pest sneaked
past the border," Keey said.

Barry O'Neill, director of the MAF Biosecurity Authority said, "The serious
animal diseases that have swept through other countries have so far been
kept out of New Zealand. This is largely due to our geographical isolation
and our well developed biosecurity systems for helping to ensure people and
freight entering our country are not carrying exotic pests or diseases."
"The Biosecurity Strategy must ensure that no more pests become
established," Keey said. "Nature is paying a heavy price for this pest
invasion: whio (blue duck) and mohua (yellowhead) and kiwi are declining
and will go extinct unless we protect them from predators," he said. Fine
words, covering a disasterous past.

The precautionary approach - if in doubt keep it out - and the polluter
pays principle are what need to be `carved in stone' within government
department policy, they aren't. The draft strategy acknowledges the need to
take precautions. "New Zealand takes a precautionary approach in developing
its risk analyses," the strategy states. "Wherever there is uncertainty,
with a risk of damaging impacts, conservative decisions based on mainstream
scientific views should be made. A precautionary approach also needs to
recognize most negative decisions also carry risks and consequences." But
there is still the controversial issue of whose authority prevails over
biosecurity decisions to be settled.

PlaNet backs Forest and Bird when it proposes the creation of a single,
standalone agency for biosecurity with a transfer of Ministry of Fisheries'
(MFISH) biosecurity role to MAF Biosecurity "so everyone knows where the
buck stops," the group said today. But the draft strategy recommends
designating MAF and MFISH as lead agencies for terrestrial and marine
biosecurity respectively. We need 100 percent inspection and cleaning of
shipping containers, instead of the current target of 25 percent, as too
many pests can sneak in on shipping containers.

Biosecurity is probably the most heavily reviewed area of government work.
Reviews to date have made over 150 recommendations. While bottom-line
policy has dominated the economic and political scene words have washed
over us in tidal waves, carrying away many unique species into the ocean of
extinction. New Zealanders have by their support for cheap is good
ideology, let it happen, and may well continue to do so.