Aussie pest sparks biosecurity alert

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Biosecurity inspectors will set traps in on two Auckland suburbs tomorrow after the discovery of an Aussie pest posing a "serious risk'' to New Zealand's economy.

A team from the Ministry of Primary Industries will arrive in Mt Roskill and Avondale after the discovery of a single Queensland fruit fly in a surveillance trap. It was caught on Tuesday and identified by ministry staff last night.

Inspectors will be sent onto residential properties to set up traps and give residents notices telling them to contain their fresh fruit and vegetables.

Ministry spokesman Andrew Coleman asked for residents to support the operation.

"Ideally we'll be working with that whole community and they will see us being active. They will see traps being looked at, they will see traps being set - because ... the Queensland fruit fly is a hugely invasive and a serious risk to New Zealand.''

The fly, also known as Q'fly, is considered Australia's most serious insect pest of fruit and vegetable crops.

It infests more than 100 species of fruit, including commercial crops such as avocado, citrus, feijoa, grape, peppers, persimmon, pipfruit, and stonefruit.

Eggs are laid beneath the skin of host fruit, which hatch in two to three days and the larvae feed for a further 10 to 31 days.

Up to 70 flies have been reported as developing from a single fruit.

Alastair Petrie, general manager of Turners & Growers, which describes itself as New Zealand's leading distributor, marketer and exporter of premium fresh produce, said the discovery was a "concern'' but he did not want to over-react before an infestation had been found.

"The fact that it has been found in a trap shows that surveillance works. There are a million different pathways - through machinery, personal containers, produce.

"With it being in a residential area, touch wood it's certainly manageable.''

The fly was caught in one of 7500 traps that forms part of the ministry's surveillance trapping system.

The Minister for Primary Industries David Carter said it could have arrived in bulk imports of fresh fruit from Queensland or via the Auckland airport border.

He defended the government's biosecurity record, saying staff had intercepted the fruit fly at the border 39 times and prevented it becoming established here.

It had been detected twice before in New Zealand - in Northland in 1995 and in Auckland in 1996 - and the threat nullified.

"In both cases increased surveillance found no further sign of Queensland fruit fly and there were no breeding populations present.'' Mr Carter said.

But in Parliament this afternoon Labour biosecurity spokesman Damien O'Connor said the discovery was the result of a breach that threatened New Zealand's $3.3 billion-a-year fruit and vegetable export industry.

"The fact it has made its way to our shores is evidence of an absolute failure of our biosecurity system and of this Government to protect our horticulture industry.

"The minister's claim that the capture of a fly illustrates how well our biosecurity system is working is absolute nonsense. They should be stopping these pests at the border not patting themselves on the back for finding it when its already here.''

The discovery will revive memories of previous pest discoveries in Auckland.

Aerial spraying campaigns were needed to eradicate the white spotted tussock moth in the eastern suburbs in 1996 and the painted apple moth in the western suburbs between 1999 and 2003.

Both campaigns prompted complaints from residents about the spray's impact on public health.

Another moth pest, fall webworm, was found in Mt Wellington in 2003 and blitzed with a $6.7 million ground-spraying programme of $6.7 million.