Toad carrier risked fine

The Australian woman who brought a live cane toad into Queenstown last week could have been charged with breaching New Zealand's biosecurity laws – even though she was unaware the hitch-hiker was in her luggage.

Ignorance was no excuse but biosecurity staff had discretion on hitting tourists with an instant fine, a spokesman for Biosecurity Minister David Carter said.

"Technically she could have been charged but the officers clearly felt it was sufficiently inadvertent," he said.

The instant biosecurity fine is to be doubled to $400 with the passing of the Biosecurity Amendment Bill this week. Mr Carter said the bill represented a big step towards improving border processing, while cracking down on travellers who deliberately flouted biosecurity laws.

"This ... sends a clear message about how seriously the Government takes New Zealand's biosecurity protection."

He said the doubling of the instant fine was an appropriate reflection of the seriousness of the offence, and would increase awareness of New Zealand's strict biosecurity measures.

dave.wood@stl.co.nz

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