Government puts $3.5m into new biosecurity strategy

5.00pm

The Government has allocated another $3.5 million to biosecurity which will be used to implement a new strategy to stop pests and other organisms getting into the country.

Biosecurity Minister Jim Sutton said today New Zealand had probably the best protective systems in the world but they needed constant improvement.

The Biosecurity Council has produced the strategy report, which took three years to complete and sets out recommendations, objectives and new ways to co-ordinate monitoring systems.

Mr Sutton said sea containers were a priority because about 450,000 arrived each year and posed the biggest risk.

New screening measures will be introduced in stages, with the ports of Auckland and Tauranga starting next month.

The aim is to have all incoming containers under screening systems by December, and importers will have to provide more detailed information about what is in them.

At present about 120,000 high risk containers are screened.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) is taking overall leadership of the strategy, which director-general Murray Sherwin said marked a new era in biosecurity.

Changes involve new management systems, better co-ordination between departments and training for the staff dealing with the new measures.

Mr Sherwin said the council's report had identified "impediments" such as fragmented leadership and dispersed responsibility.

Mr Sutton said the Government was spending $50 million a year more on biosecurity now than in 1999, and despite intense protection there were still gaps in the system.

The council's report identified 33 "incursions" between January 2000 and April 2003.

Among the invaders were the saltmarsh mosquito, varroa bee mite, painted apple moth, argentine ant and the lace coral that is damaging the Golden Bay ecosystem.

- NZPA