CLEARED: Clive and Nicki Higgie (left), whose Paloma Gardens was subject to a dawn raid by police and ministry officials, are pictured with their lawyer Natalie Walker, ahead of a court appearance last December. PHOTO/ BEVAN CONLEY A-021214WCBRCTRE01
CLEARED: Clive and Nicki Higgie (left), whose Paloma Gardens was subject to a dawn raid by police and ministry officials, are pictured with their lawyer Natalie Walker, ahead of a court appearance last December. PHOTO/ BEVAN CONLEY A-021214WCBRCTRE01
The full cost of a Ministry for Primary Industries operation against Wanganui and Auckland plant experts may never be revealed to the public.
In Operation Silbae, Nicki and Clive Higgie in Wanganui, and Graeme Platt in Auckland, were charged with possessing plants whose presence was not authorised in New Zealand.
The operation about a Pacific Island relation to New Zealand's kauri started with dawn raids in 2012 and ended when the last charges were dropped in Auckland District Court last month.
Those charged have estimated the full cost of the operation was at least $2 million, while Auckland Judge Mary-Elizabeth Sharp called it "overkill" and an unwarranted use of resources.
The Wanganui Chronicle's Official Information Act request to the ministry about the costs got a restricted reply.
It gave the cost of external contractor plant testing and collecting as $51,772.67, excluding gst. It did not give the cost of legal work or the time and travel of ministry staff.
Ministry compliance director Dean Baigent said the Crown's legal costs came out of a bulk fund and he could not say how much of that was spent on the operation. He could also not say how much the ministry spent.
"MPI internal resourcing costs attributable to Operation Silbae are a fixed budgeted amount for MPI and not specific to that of Operation Silbae. The costs would incur regardless of the operation," Mr Baigent said.
On receiving his response, the Chronicle sent questions to Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.
He was asked whether he could give an estimate of costs, whether he thought the outcome was useful and whether that was a concern to him. He was also asked whether he had anything to say about the operation.
Our questions received a brief answer from Mr Guy's press secretary, Phil Rennie: "Your questions should be directed to MPI rather than the minister. This operation was run by MPI and it would be more appropriate for them to comment."
Previous Chronicle questions to the ministry on whether the operation was worthwhile have had only this response from a communications adviser: "MPI takes biosecurity very seriously. This is why it investigated the actions of Mr Higgie and laid charges."
All charges against Mr and Mrs Higgie, who own the nationally significant Paloma Gardens at Fordell, were eventually dropped.
