Northland—Myrtle Rust Incursion

1. Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman) to the Minister for Primary Industries: What action has the Minister initiated to alert the public to the serious threats from the biosecurity incursion of myrtle rust identified near Kerikeri?

Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister for Primary Industries): This is a very important issue. I am happy to answer the member's question. What I would say is that Minister Barry and I have just done a joint press release and talked to numerous media about the importance of this issue. The member may also be aware—or he may not have read the Biosecurity 2025 document that I released in July last year, which talks on page 11 about the importance of myrtle rust. It is a very important serious fungal disease, and we have stepped up the response. It was only a matter of time—because it has been in Australia since 2010, and this is an airborne fungal disease—before it would reach New Zealand.

Ron Mark: Scion told you that.

Hon NATHAN GUY: Well, if the member wants to take a question, he should get on his feet and take one.

Mr SPEAKER: No, no, that will not be happening.

Hon NATHAN GUY: So, as a result, we have stepped up the response in Kerikeri, we have worked very constructively with the nursery owner and his staff, who did the right thing. It has been confirmed that we have myrtle rust in that nursery, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has established a movement control on that nursery, and it will be sprayed with fungicide. We are reaching out to the community of Kerikeri—and indeed the local members, because I had the courtesy to ring the local members before the Government went public with this announcement this afternoon. I rang Kelvin Davis and I took the opportunity to ring Winston Peters, who knew I was calling but was out on Lambton Quay getting lunch.

Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think this matter is serious, and I do not think that the Minister being a smart alec and frivolous about the matter should be allowed to behave like that in the House. I know he is an incompetent fool—

Mr SPEAKER: Order! The public will judge the quality of the answer.

Ron Mark: Point of order. [Interruption]

Mr SPEAKER: Order! We now have an interruption from Ron Mark.

Ron Mark: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. You would have heard the Minister invite me to ask a question. I seek leave to ask him that specific question. In his answer, he said that if the member wants to ask a question he should, so I seek the leave—

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to ask an additional supplementary question to the Minister. Is there any objection? [Interruption] There is objection. The Hon Damien O'Connor—one supplementary question.

Hon Damien O'Connor: Can the Minister give any indication as to the potential spread of this disease, and given that it is airborne in nature of that infection, what is the likely radius of control that he has put in place?

Hon NATHAN GUY: Yes, I can reassure the member that MPI and the Department of Conservation (DOC) are taking this very, very seriously. As I already alluded to in the answer to the primary question, the nursery owner did the right thing: supplied photographic evidence through to MPI. MPI arrived yesterday very quickly and took samples and then confirmed overnight that indeed it was myrtle rust. It will move out from the epicentre in a very controlled way; right now it is mapping all of the myrtle trees. There are about 130 sites that are already monitored by MPI—high-risk sites in Northland—and they will be revisited. DOC is moving into the conservation estate. We are reaching out to all of the public who have purchased any tree stock from this particular nursery or the other nurseries in Kerikeri to go and investigate those trees that they have planted for any signs of myrtle rust. So we are taking it very, very responsibly. We are doing all we can, but it will be a challenge to eradicate this because it is windborne, and evidence from other countries that have it is that it is very difficult to indeed eradicate it, but, because the nursery owner moved fast and because MPI has moved fast, and with the public support, we will be doing everything possible to see indeed whether we can eradicate it.

Rt Hon Winston Peters: Supplementary question.

Hon Damien O'Connor: Supplementary question.

Mr SPEAKER: No, no. I have allowed one supplementary question.

Hon Damien O'Connor: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can the Minister—

Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have allowed one supplementary question, and that is it.

Steffan Browning: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I felt that the Minister did not answer fully. He has indicated in his media release—[Interruption]—excuse me, this is a particular point of order—that it is airborne and it probably arrived that way from Australia, rather than it being a lapse in biosecurity in respect of a particular nursery.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! No, this is not a point of order. It is an attempt to have a further supplementary question.

ENDS

© Scoop Media