By ANNE BESTON environment reporter
Gaps in New Zealand's biosecurity are leaving the country vulnerable to imported pests and diseases, says a report from the Office of the Auditor-General.
The report is an investigation of seven case studies of major pest incursions, including the botched painted apple moth operation in West Auckland.
It lists a range of bungles, missed opportunities and confusion between and within Government departments responsible for handling unwanted organisms.
The report found:
* An ant nest at Auckland Airport was mown over for up to two years before a groundsman was bitten badly enough to alert authorities, who discovered red fire ant, one of the world's nastiest pests.
* There was no dedicated surveillance programme for red fire ant and 18 months after it was detected at the airport, no decision has been made on whether there should be a programme.
* Two of the worst pest incursions in recent years, the southern saltmarsh mosquito and painted apple moth, are likely to have come in on sea containers. Most are checked by "door inspection" - where an official pokes his or her head in the door and has a look around.
* The report found there were "flaws and errors of judgment" by senior MAF staff in response to the painted apple moth incursion.
* There were "poor working relationships" between the senior MAF official in charge of the operation and key people in the forestry industry she was charged with protecting.
* It was "not acceptable" that minutes of key meetings in the early stages of the moth incursion were not kept, the report says.
* An operational plan on how MAF would deal with the pest was finally produced after the eradication attempt had been going for two years.
The Auditor-General's investigation comes after a number of reports over the past month have found deficiencies in New Zealand's biosecurity.
As well as red fire ant and painted apple moth, the Auditor-General investigated Government agencies' response to southern saltmarsh mosquito, black widow spiders on imported table grapes and varroa bee mite.
As expected, MAF came under fire for the botched painted apple moth campaign, and criticism fell mainly on its former Director of Forest Biosecurity, Dr Ruth Frampton.
Although she abruptly quit her job this year, the Auditor-General reserved some criticism for MAF's present Group Director of Biosecurity, Dr Barry O'Neil.
The report says that if Dr O'Neil had "taken a more active role" over MAF's response, problems might have been avoided or fixed sooner.
The report questions MAF's decision to initially proceed with targeted helicopter spraying of the moth.
It said this was "the first time such a spraying technique had been attempted anywhere in the world".
Once aerial spraying was due to start, a string of delays kept the helicopters on the ground while the moth continued to spread.
Confusion over the roles of MAF and the Ministry of Health meant there were also delays in responding to the southern saltmarsh mosquito invasion at Kaipara. Spraying began 11 months after the mosquito was found, a delay which may have "compromised" the response to the pest.
On varroa bee mite, the report says MAF's surveillance programme did not detect the mite in time to eradicate it.
The detection programme could be regarded as a failure.
The red fire ant nest, discovered at Auckland Airport in February last year, had been there for at least nine months and up to two years.
The nest was in an area "cluttered with large amounts of rubbish", an ideal site for unwanted invaders to go undetected. It was four months before it was cleaned up.
Red fire ants are one of the world's worst pests. They have a painful sting, can fly up to 22km and once they have invaded an area, they render it uninhabitable.
The report discusses MAF's decision to revise the criteria for imports of Californian table grapes after eight spiders were found over a two-year period. The ministry went out of its way to ensure the process did not disrupt the new grape season by prioritising it while other work was put on hold.
New Zealand is also not well-enough prepared for a major outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the report says.
Herald feature: Environment
By ANNE BESTON environment reporter
Gaps in New Zealand's biosecurity are leaving the country vulnerable to imported pests and diseases, says a report from the Office of the Auditor-General.
The report is an investigation of seven case studies of major pest incursions, including the botched painted apple moth operation in West Auckland.
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