New Zealand's biosecurity questioned

Vegetable growers say the latest decision by biosecurity officials to give up trying to eradicate a pest incursion raises questions about the viability of the existing system of keeping unwanted pest and diseases out of New Zealand.

"New Zealand is chasing its tail on biosecurity, running incursion responses that end up with Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Biosecurity saying 'we can't eradicate', and the industry has to deal with it," said Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Peter Silcock.

Vegetable growers were "bitterly disappointed" with MAF's decision today to not attempt eradication of the orange-spotted hadda beetle, he said.

The pest devastates crops such as eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes overseas but MAF officials today said the costs of eradication would outweigh the cost to the industry. It has not yet spread to those crops in NZ.

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Peter Silcock said while the industry "reluctantly accepts" the cost-benefit analysis, it was a bad blow for the industry.

"We agree that their figures don't justify eradication, but the fact is this leaves us with another pest to manage."

The hadda beetle was likely to cost the industry $100 million over the next 20 years.

Growers had a strategy to double the industry's value to $10 billion by 2020: "We are not going to make it if we can't stop incursions or effectively manage our biosecurity."

Mr Silcock said his members were angry and frustrated and wanted to sit down with biosecurity officials to sort out the nation's ability to respond to incursions.

MAF said the beetle discovered in January is widespread across central Auckland.

MAF's biosecurity response manager, David Yard, said that eradication of hadda beetle was not possible, "given its widespread distribution and the unknown effectiveness of treatment".

"The potential cost to the taxpayer of eradicating the hadda beetle was estimated to be $200 million over four years, which far outweighs the estimated impacts," he said.

Asked whether MAF had been made risk-averse by previous pest incursion clean-ups, such as painted apple moth in Auckland in 1999 (cost $65 million), and unsuccessful attempts to control the spread of varroa (cost close to $20 million), he said every pest incursion was put through a rigorous decision-making process.

The fact that MAF had aborted or declined eradication programmes in recent years - for dutch elm disease, potato spindle tuber viroid in tomatoes, blackbutt leafminer moth in eucalypts, the lettuce aphid, and liberibacter affecting potatoes and tomatoes - did not indicate a bias against eradication bids.

Red imported fire ant, fruit fly, asian gypsy moth and painted apple moth had all been successfully eradicated, and a similar announcement is expected soon for the southern saltmarsh mosquito.

In the case of the hadda beetle, MAF both sprayed plants and removed potential hosts in a bid to stop further spread while it assessed the incursion.

The beetle had probably arrived as a hitchhiker at Auckland's port and was first discovered in Dove-Myer Robinson Park in January this year. MAF found another 50 beetles in 22 sites, some over 8km from the original site and more finds are expected throughout Auckland.

"Eradication of a pest or disease is not always feasible - eradication has to be technically and scientifically possible and it has to be affordable and desirable," Mr Yard said. Zero risk was not achievable.

- NZPA