Pipfruit protestors arrive in Wellington

Hundreds of angry apple growers arrived in central Wellington at noon today, calling for a stronger Government stance against Australian bans on their fruit.

The bans cost New Zealand growers between $20 million and $40 million a year, according to an organiser of the protest, Phil Alison, of Havelock North.

The Australian market was ripe for the picking, he said: "It's the most protected apple market in the world, so it's the most over-priced, with the poorest quality and most old-fashioned varieties."

Around 500 Hawke's Bay orchardists travelled by train -- chanting "2, 4, 6, 8: Open the gate, mate!" -- to central Wellington and met up with four busloads of South Island growers to rally at Parliament and march on the Australian High Commission.

At the Wellington Railway Station several orchardists played "Australian Access Cricket" -- bowling underarm.

Two grower representatives were expected to be allowed into the commission's grounds to present some apples to Australian High Commissioner Allan Hawke and exchange views.

"Choose not to buy Australian fresh fruit and vegetables," says an advertisement placed by the Australian Access Action Group in Wellington's Dominion Post newspaper today.

"This will send a powerful message that New Zealanders will not tolerate Australia's double standards on free trade," it says.

Mr Alison, a spokesman for the Australian Access Action Group, said growers hoped to persuade the Government to take more direct action against the Australian government at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

So far, the Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton has only listed its complaint about the Australian trade barrier with a phytosanitary (plant health) committee due to meet at the WTO next week.

But Mr Alison said this was not enough: "We want the Government to do more, such as suspending all discussions on closer economic relations between Australia and New Zealand at both ministerial and official levels".

He was "horrified" that Mr Sutton was not in Wellington to meet the marchers, but at speaking engagements in Christchurch.

"It begs the question of whether the Government is serious about the issue at all and how committed the minister is to resolving this."

A spokeswoman for Mr Sutton said the growers were being received by a more senior member of cabinet, Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff.

- NZPA