12. ERIC ROY (National—Invercargill) Link to this
to the Minister for Biosecurity
Is he satisfied that Biosecurity New Zealand is taking all appropriate steps to prevent the spread of didymo; if not, why not?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister for Biosecurity) Link to this
Yes. This afternoon Biosecurity New Zealand announced that it is imposing a controlled area over the entire South Island. This will make it an offence under the Biosecurity Act to enter North Island waterways with gear that has been used in South Island waterways and not been cleaned. It will continue to be an offence to knowingly spread didymo between catchments within the South Island. In addition, Biosecurity New Zealand also announced today an additional research and education campaign, bringing total expenditure on didymo control this financial year to over $6 million, to ensure that all New Zealanders know they have a personal responsibility to ensure that they clean clothing and gear used in one waterway before it is used in another, particularly in the South Island but potentially in the North Island as well.
If the Minister is so concerned about the spread of didymo, why is it that, 1 year after the initial discovery of this serious incursion in two Southland rivers, no information was provided to sports shops and other service providers to water users such as fishing licence purchasers?
I think members should know that very little was known about didymo when it was first discovered in October 2004. Biosecurity New Zealand immediately sought information, both here and overseas, on its likely impacts, developed tools for cleaning, initiated a public awareness campaign, and surveyed neighbouring Southland rivers. It then imposed movement controls on the rivers concerned, following a review of this other work. This year, a number of other infected rivers were identified outside of Southland, and further controlled areas were imposed while a major research programme and survey of all high-risk rivers was initiated. These have now been reviewed, in light of more recent information. Since then, Biosecurity New Zealand has become aware of the significant extent of didymo spread and has moved its response to an appropriate level, through a comprehensive strategy set in motion today.
Maryan StreetAgain, I think all members should realise that there is no treatment or technology for controlling didymo known to anywhere else on the planet. New Zealand is doing more research and monitoring of didymo than any other country. In my view, Biosecurity New Zealand’s response is appropriate and realistic, given how little is known about this organism and the fact that nothing is available to control it. I note that scientific advisers believe there is a real possibility that didymo is being spread by birds, from catchment to catchment. If this is indeed the case, then there is very little anyone can do to prevent its spread within the South Island. The most we can hope for is that through education and personal responsibility we can reduce further spread while research is carried out.
Shane ArdernWith didymo now a permanent resident in New Zealand and spreading, and with the potential long-term damage that that will cause, will the Minister admit that he was wrong to dismiss in his biosecurity summit discussion document and speech that a pest management strategy in advance of a pest being found is a smart idea, will he now take notice of the likes of Professor Morris from Massey University, who has been advising him of this for years, and will he not continue to rely on accidents, like a visiting foreign expert discovering the sea squirt at Auckland by accident and then reporting it to his biosecurity agency, before he takes action?
There were a number of questions there. Firstly, Professor Morris, whom the member mentioned, has not been advising me for years, because I have been the Minister for Biosecurity for only a number a weeks. Let me just say that one piece of advice I have not taken was from the member himself. Firstly, he advised us to take action against a pest that had not yet arrived. He gave his second piece of advice in a press release dated 7 October: “Didymo could have been restricted to Southland’s Mararoa and Waiau Rivers if appropriate action had been taken immediately. This stuff can be killed,”. Well, if the member has a patent for that, he will make a lot of money. I will take shares in the company, because no one has a way to kill it. He went on to state: “This stuff can be killed, but unfortunately they have to kill the river for a few years to do it.” I can just imagine, as Minister for Biosecurity, going around New Zealand and saying: “Boy, have I got a deal for you. We’re going to kill didymo—that’s the good news—but the bad news is that we’re killing everything else.”
Does the Minister think it is appropriate that, in his own words, a new diatom, didymo, was found in the Mararoa in mid-October 2004 and it was not until 19 August 2005 that those rivers became controlled areas?
I think the work of Biosecurity New Zealand has been world-class in this area, and so do many other scientists throughout the world. For the information of the member, who may not know, Fish and Game New Zealand today welcomed the announcement by Biosecurity New Zealand that it will invest heavily in constraining both the spread and the effects of this potentially devastating organism. The Chairman of Environment Southland, an elected authority, Stuart Collie, said: “It is a logical move by Biosecurity New Zealand and it does not make sense to control only the parts of the waters that didymo is in. Council was briefed about this policy last week, and while it does not have a formal policy position, I believe it will support Biosecurity New Zealand.”
I seek leave to table a report from Environment Southland that states that didymo is now colonised in Lake Manapōuri, and shows that, in fact, the horse has bolted.