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Proposed amendment to post entry quarantine (PEQ) requirements for Vaccinium (blueberry) plants imported as tissue cultures

Have your say

From 14 August 2017 to 11 September 2017, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) invites comment on proposed changes to the import requirements for Vaccinium (blueberry) plants in tissue culture imported under the Import Health Standard (IHS) 155.02.06: Importation of nursery stock.

The draft IHS schedule includes a new option for plants to undergo post entry quarantine (PEQ) in a Level 3A greenhouse. Full details of the proposed changes are in the consultation document.

Consultation document

Making your submission

Email your feedback on the draft by 5pm on 11 September 2017 to plantimports@mpi.govt.nz

Make sure you include in your submission:

  • the title of the consultation document in the subject line of your email
  • your name and title, if applicable
  • your organisation's name (if you're submitting on behalf of an organisation)
  • your contact details (for example, phone number, address and email).

While we prefer email, you can send your submission by post to:

Plant Imports
Plants, Food and Environment
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140
New Zealand.

All submissions received by the closing date will be considered before the amended import health standard (IHS) is issued. MPI may hold late submissions on file for consideration when the issued IHS is next revised or reviewed.

Steps to finalising the new IHS

After we have considered all submissions we publish a provisional IHS for 10 days to give submitters a chance to examine the changes. An independent review (under section 24 of the Biosecurity Act 1993) may be requested in this period if a submitter considers scientific evidence they raised during their submission has not received sufficient consideration. If there is no review, the IHS becomes final after 10 days.

The final IHS will be published on this consultation page and other relevant pages on this website.

Submissions are public information

Any submission you make becomes public information. Anyone can ask for copies of all submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the information available unless we have a good reason for withholding it. You can find those grounds in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA. Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include, it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may require the information be released.

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