By ANNE BESTON
Waitakere City Council has turned up the heat in the debate over the future of the Government's controversial aerial moth spraying campaign by backing a plan from a community group.
At yesterday's emergency environment committee meeting, councillors threw out a set of options put up by the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry and backed a suggestion from the painted apple moth community advisory group.
The group was set up by MAF late last year to air residents' concerns over the helicopter spraying campaign. But it has become increasingly critical of MAF's handling of the pest incursion and in particular the painted apple moth programme leader, Dr Ruth Frampton.
Yesterday, instead of choosing one of four options that will be put to Cabinet by MAF late next month, a majority of Waitakere City councillors voted unanimously for the community group proposal.
The council's environment committee chairwoman, Penny Hulse, said she hoped MAF would see the council's backing of "option five" as "a constructive suggestion".
Residents were increasingly worried by talk of blanket spraying of the biological insecticide Foray 48B, or Btk, she said.
Community group chairman Kubi Witten-Hannah said option five called for an end to aerial spraying of Btk over populated areas, a beefing-up of ground spraying, an extension of the programme to deal with residents' health concerns, and more removal of vegetation on which the moth is known to feed.
He denied the option was a deliberate snub to the ministry, which has not seen it.
"They may be a little cross about the fact they haven't seen it, but we were forced into that by the timing of today's meeting," he said yesterday.
"We were formed by MAF to come up with suggestions. I don't see this as anti-MAF at all."
Mr Witten-Hannah said the $11 million fight against the moth had reached a critical stage and it was time the ministry looked at a different way of tackling the problem.
Last week, Auckland Regional Council backed the third of MAF's four options, a massive blanket spray of an area that would virtually cover Auckland.
The other three options Cabinet will consider next month are: to do nothing further; to give up on eradication and opt to control the moth's spread; and to extend the current aerial spray operation from 600ha to 2000-3000ha.
nzherald.co.nz/environment
