Call for action on kauri killer

BY STEPHEN FORBES

The Green Party is calling for the government to get tough on a disease which is killing kauri trees.

Kauri dieback, also known as Phytophthora taxon Agathis, was first detected in the Waitakere Ranges in 2006 and the Auckland Regional Council has already launched a campaign to try and stop it spreading.

But Green Party biosecurity spokesman Kevin Hague says the government needs to provide more money for research.

"At the moment there are some critical questions about kauri dieback that we don’t have the answers to," he says. "And we need those answers if we are going to save the kauri tree.

"That is the reality we are facing. Delaying further the response to this urgent threat could affect both the environment and the economy by jeopardising one of our key national icons."

Kauri dieback spreads through soil and can be transferred by people on the soles of their shoes, car tyres and equipment. It can also be carried by animals.

The regional council last month installed equipment at popular walking tracks in the ranges for trampers to clean the soles of their shoes when entering or leaving the bush.

The fungal disease was first reported in 2006 on the Maungaroa Ridge Track near Piha.

It kills kauri trees of all ages and symptoms include the yellowing of foliage, canopy thinning and dead branches. Affected trees can also develop
lesions that bleed resin.

The regional council has sites at Kakarekare, Cascades Kauri Park, Anawhata and Huia under observation.

Biosecurity Minister David Carter is expected to make a decision on the issue soon.

- © Fairfax NZ News