10 April 2001 - Wellington
FOREST AND BIRD MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
Used vehicles creating unnecessary biosecurity risks
Forest and Bird is calling on the government to immediately review the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Import
Health Standard (IHS) for Used Vehicles.
Forest and Bird Biosecurity Awareness Officer, Karli Thomas, said that the Labour party had made a firm commitment to
clean up the risk pathway of used vehicle imports. "MAF's IHS fails to meet this Government's election policy".
Last year MAF proposed an improved IHS, requiring offshore inspection of all used vehicles. "Earlier this year MAF
decided to abandon this proposal and continue to allow used vehicles to be brought into New Zealand without being
inspected for pests prior to shipment." Ms Thomas said.
Since the implementation of the new IHS, there have been two discoveries of mosquitoes at the Port of Auckland, one
mosquito find was on a contaminated used truck. Last week a dirty bus slipped through border inspections altogether, and
was only discovered after it broke down in the Lyttleton tunnel.
"At present the hole in our border control is so big that a bus can get through it." Ms Thomas said.
Ms Thomas said that the importation of uninspected used vehicles was creating unnecessary biosecurity risks. "Our
environment, primary industry and public health are too important to risk like that. Used vehicles must be inspected and
decontaminated before they are shipped to New Zealand."
......... ends.
Further information
Labour Party Policy on Biosecurity, October 1999:
Labour will "stop used vehicle and machinery imports from bringing pests into New Zealand by requiring mandatory, and
audited, decontamination and inspection of such high-risk imports before they leave for New Zealand."
Contact: Eric Pyle or Karli Thomas, Forest and Bird - phone 04 385 7374