Ministers get spray petition

Ministers who will decide whether Hamilton should be sprayed for asian gypsy moth have been given a report and petition against aerial spraying.

The Cabinet's economic development committee was due to discuss the issue yesterday and its recommendation will be subject to Cabinet approval when it meets on Monday.

Hamilton West MP Martin Gallagher has forwarded to the Cabinet a 5000-signature petition from residents and a report from Auckland entomologist John Clearwater arguing against spraying.

Accompanying the petition and report are a letter from the city's anti-spray lobby outlining concerns about the approach of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

MAF's recommendation is to spray pesticide Foray 48B to eradicate the moth. However, the moth's presence in the city is disputed by opponents.

The plan involves spraying 1500ha of the city eight times from early October. The likely spray zone includes 5500 households and about 15,000 residents.

Dr Clearwater, a senior scientist involved in the successful white-spotted tussock moth eradication in the late 1990s, said the lone male gypsy moth trapped in the city in March did not justify the aerial spraying.

"I think [MAF] have enormously improved their ability to tackle these problems and I've got no criticism of their responses to date," he said.

However, he rejected MAF's argument that the moth found in March represented a larger population which had yet to be found. Pheromone traps laid after the moth find were highly effective, he said, and had not trapped more moths.

- NZPA