Opinion: Everyone needs to take part in keeping NZ green

Our season is well underway and I hope readers are enjoying the wonderful avocado available in your local stores.

With the perfect weather over our long weekend, I hope it might have been the start of a long hot summer, just right to try out new recipes for avocados.

On the way back from my recent holiday, I changed my tickets to allow me to attend the launch of the New Zealand avocado season in Thailand. Our Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters officiated at the event.

Thai celebrity Kalamare was MC for the event and famous chef Kitichai prepared a delicious avocado lunch.

We also visited the Hass Avocado, an avocado restaurant. One dish I thought some of you might enjoy and a standout dish on offer, was a make your own guacamole board.

On a lovely wooden chopping board, they had five bowls including an avocado, taco chips and small bowls of onions, chillies, tomatoes and different spices. They provided a mortar and pestle, and the customer made guacamole exactly to their own taste!

It was a fantastic idea, such a nice addition to enjoying a glass of wine or beer — the conversation wonderfully enhanced sharing tastes and methods of guacamole recipes.
On a more serious conversation, I attended the launch of the Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital (TMBC) programme in Tauranga in October.

Minister Damien O'Connor opened the event with local iwi, businesses, government and industry groups coming together to lead and take action towards biosecurity excellence.

As a horticulture industry, biosecurity is extremely important and across biosecurity in New Zealand there is an objective of getting all 4.7m New Zealanders to be more aware of, and involved in, keeping New Zealand free of harmful pests.

I suggest that the beautiful landscapes and waterways we are surrounded by, and our "clean and green" image, takes effort from us all.