Growers' class action gathers force

President Neil Trebilco said KGI did not support the action, although the views of the growers who were bringing the claim were respected.

The Kiwifruit Claim - launched by a group of Te Puke-based growers - has now published its formal statement of claim, together with further explanatory material approved by the High Court at Wellington.

The claim is a class action against the Government over its handling of the vine-killing disease Psa.

John Cameron, who chairs the Kiwifruit Claim committee, said the litigation was about "official accountability and just compensation for the destruction of so many kiwifruit growers' livelihoods".

The claim has attracted a significant degree of support from affected growers. Claim media spokesman Matthew Hooton said as of January 30, 29 per cent of Gold kiwifruit growers by area had registered their interest in the claim, of whom 18 per cent had paid their one-off fee and completed the formal paperwork to sign up to the claim. Nine per cent of Green kiwifruit growers by area had also signed up or registered their interest. Sector organisation New Zealand Kiwifruit Grower Inc (KGI) and single-point-of-entry export marketing organisation Zespri lobbied strongly against bringing the claim, alleging it could cause the Government to withdraw support from the industry or threaten the single point of entry.

KGI president Neil Trebilco said the views of the growers who were bringing the claim were respected, but that KGI still did not support the action.

"From an initial look at the statement of claim, it appears to be a very hard case to win," said Mr Trebilco. "First the plaintiffs are looking to establish new law by making the Government liable to pay compensation for biosecurity failings. Second, the plaintiffs have to legally prove how the Government failed and, third if the Government did fail, did that failure amount to negligence." Mr Trebilco said KGI believed there was much more benefit for the industry to be gained from working in partnership with the Government.

"Since Psa was first discovered in New Zealand in 2010, the industry has been working much more closely with MPI [Ministry for Primary Industries] on biosecurity issues," he said.

But Mr Cameron said the Government had responded professionally to the claim from the outset. In September last year, Prime Minister John Key acknowledged growers' rights to explore the matter in the courts, and government ministers had indicated the litigation would be treated entirely separately from other industry issues, he said.

Hooton said the Government had also made clear privately it would not be linking the litigation to other industry issues. "Based on the public and private advice we have received from ministers, kiwifruit growers and post-harvest operators are able to join the claim safe in the knowledge it will have no impact on issues like the SPE [single point of entry], government support for industry R&D [research and development] or trade negotiations and other market access issues."