Conservation Minister Maggie Barry backs 1080 drop

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry. Photo / Stuart Munro

Newly appointed Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said she would have intervened if Auckland Council had decided against using 1080 in the Hunua Ranges.

Ms Barry made the comments on TVNZ's Q+A programme this morning where she also conceded she was not sure what had prompted Prime Minister John Key to promote her from a backbench MP to a cabinet minister.

"He has confidence in me to deliver on the three portfolios that he's given me so, in John we trust. I suppose having had a bit of a background in gardening and horticulture [helped] -- conservation is there.

"Seniors engagement has always been close to my heart, I guess my mother's journey through dementia is one of the reasons why I wanted to come into politics -- to make a difference -- and Arts, Culture and Heritage is just the most wonderful thing so I couldn't be happier with my trifecta."

Ms Barry said her first aim as the new Conservation Minister was to meet sector groups including Forest and Bird, and Fish and Game.

"As well as that, I want to go round and meet with the DoC [Department of Conservation] officials and the DoC workers around New Zealand so in Conservation Week, the first week of November, I'm going to do a bit of a road trip and make sure that I'm on top of their issues and listening to what they've got to say."

She said she had a keen interest in making sure New Zealand's native plant species survived -- citing Kauri die-back as a particularly important issue.

"I think this really adds momentum to getting a 15th National Park in, so I'll be pushing hard to consult with iwi and to try and get the Waipu or Kauri National Park in the north of the North Island.

"These are the kinds of challenges that I'm starting to come to grips with at the moment. We have to get our predators under control so we do need 1080."

Ms Barry said she "absolutely" supported the use of the controversial poison.

"In fact, if the Auckland Council group hadn't voted in favour of using it in the Hunua Ranges I would have given them a call and had a chat with them because I think it's extremely important that we accept the science.

"The Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, in a report in 2011 and again in 2013 has said that 1080 is an outstanding device, a tool that we need to use.

"An aerial drop in the Hunuas and down south where the beech mast is an issue now is essential, because you can't get trappers in there."