An independent biosecurity conducts authority?

Federated Farmers close to calling for an independent biosecurity conducts authority to be appointed, in order to independently investigate biosecurity incursions and complaints against the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) Biosecurity New Zealand.

"2010 has seen three significant post-border biosecurity incursions and each one is a klaxon," says John Hartnell, Federated Farmers biosecurity spokesperson.

"Federated Farmers concern is that we are playing Russian Roulette with our major export industries.  If anything there seems an air of fatalism that everything will get here, eventually.

“We don’t buy inevitability but we do see need for consistent analysis of the where, what, why and how’s behind an incursion.

“We’re just not taking biosecurity incursions seriously enough.

“A 1993 Treasury Study into a ‘limited’ foot and mouth outbreak, when adjusted for inflation, put the cost of the outbreak on gross domestic product at around $8.65 billion after the first year and $14.41 billion after two years.

“In 2010 we have seen significant horticultural pests like the Great White Cabbage Butterfly, the Hadda Beetle and the Australian Pasture Tunnel Worm, all discovered post-border.

“New Zealand’s Bee Industry, already reeling from Varroa, had confirmation in late September that Nosema ceranae was detected in the Coromandel.

“Yet each single incursion is incredibly serious and they are occurring too regularly.  That’s why an independent ‘check’ is increasingly attractive.

“It could, for instance, be headed by a retired judge and be charged with independently investigating post-border biosecurity incursions.  Moreover, it could also investigate complaints against MAF Biosecurity New Zealand.

“The closest thing we currently have is an independent review panel process for import health standards.  Even that only came about due to Federated Farmers lobbying in 2008 but of course, has a much narrower scope.

“We want to see independence as we see with incidents involving police, teachers or even the conduct of real estate agents.

“This is about learning from incursions and will help uncover if we have the right resourcing in the right areas,” Mr Hartnell concluded