Biosecurity
Without the income generated by the work of the agriculture sector, New Zealanders would not enjoy first-world living standards. To maintain the competitive advantage that agriculture has, biosecurity must retain a strong focus on protection of land based primary production.
Biosecurity agencies must be accountable for balancing trade facilitation with ensuring pests and diseases are kept out of New Zealand. The sea is a great natural border and an advantage we must protect. Accountability and performance of our biosecurity agencies are paramount. For example, if border control systems have been shown to be ineffective, there needs to be a future focus on new methods to deal with current inefficiencies and potential threats.
Tourists and the public are often a forgotten biosecurity risk causing group. Didymo, for example, would more than likely not be here if it wasn't for a stray American angler whose fishing equipment wasn't cleaned properly.Unfortunately, the land user is often the one who suffers if the real causes of the problems are not properly targeted.
To counteract any risks, we support greater emphasis being placed on ways of pushing the biosecurity focus for imported goods off-shore. Let the countries sending their risk goods here deal with the problem. Containers, cars and food products should all be treated and inspected prior to arrival. We should not have to sort out a problem within New Zealand that has originated from a country where a pest or disease is present that could devastate our national economy.
Pre-border assurance can be implemented through international agreements between trading countries with costs being absorbed by the exporter or exporting nation.
Our borders must remain secure. Electronic passenger clearance at airports or "fast track" clearance of imported goods at ports must take biosecurity risks into consideration. New technologies at the border are seen as positive, as long as they are thoroughly tested and do not increase the chance of a new biosecurity incursion.
Forward focused biosecurity systems that provide confidence to farmers are critical. While they must not hinder free trade, robust, transparent and scientifically is to be achieved, then biosecurity agencies must work towards developing communication and partnerships with land users. Making the best use of the people working within land based industries is an efficient way of improving biosecurity systems.
Government has traditionally funded and undertaken biosecurity. This recognises the widespread and intergenerational value biosecurity has for all New Zealanders, the risk created by other sectors of the economy and the need for biosecurity decisions to be objective.
While Government Industry Agreements (GIAs) offer the opportunity for greater collaboration and communication between the primary sector and government in order to create better biosecurity outcomes, they must not result in a transfer of costs from government to the primary sector. GIAs must be a true, transparent and committed partnership between the primary sector and the government. GIAs must enhance biosecurity, be of net benefit to the sector involved and be adaptable. The role of exacerabators and the sources of biosecurity risk must be recognised in any funding model.
Federated Farmers wants
- Government to assess how exacerbators, i.e. importers and tourists, can assist in the funding of the costs of readiness and incursion response actions
- Greater implementation of pre-border measures to keep biosecurity risks out of New Zealand
- Robust and scientifically justified importhealth standard process
- Changes to biosecurity implementationmust be scientifically justified
- Government to work in partnership with primary industry groups to ensure that biosecurity processes are equitable
- Government to reassess the Government Industry Agreement process and the formation of the Deed of Agreement for readiness and response
- Establishment of a full-time independent review panel to act as a watch dog on biosecurity decision-making processes.
Spokesman
The National Board spokesman for biosecurity is Dr William Rolleston. Representatives from the Federation are on various biosecurity committees.
You can contact Dr William Rolleston on 027 246 0634, 03 687 4050 or email him at wrolleston@fedfarm.org.nz
