Fruitfly intercepted
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) quarantine staff intercepted four Queensland fruitfly larvae in an undeclared mandarin at Wellington airport earlier this month. The fruit was found when the passenger's bag went through an MPI biosecurity X-ray machine. An Australian passenger received a $400 fine for failing to declare the mandarin. So far this year, MPI staff have made 11 fruitfly interceptions at the border. A copy of the Biosecurity 2025 Direction Statement launched last week is available at https://www.mpi.govt.nz/document-vault/14857.
Tree disease warning
The potentially devastating forestry and ornamental tree disease Phytophthora ramorum - widespread in Europe and the United States - could be disastrous for the plantation forestry sector if it reached New Zealand, warns New Zealand First primary industry spokesman Richard Prosser. He says underfunding and misplaced priorities have caused too many slip-ups by Ministry for Primary Industries biosecurity in recent years and the ministry needs to ensure it has robust protocols in place to keep out the disease "or the consequences could be monumental".
Facial eczema action