Biosecurity 2025 direction statement

[Upbeat music]

Ruud Kleinpaste, "Bugman": New Zealand is the bread basket of the world and we can grow anything. We can do it cheaply because we've got relatively few pests, few diseases. We've been isolated all this time; we're in the perfect condition to grow the best stuff. Any threat that is undermining this ability of ours to do this – [makes a cutting sound as he draws his hand across his throat] Got to get out. Can't get in.

Graeme Marshall, Chair, Biosecurity Ministerial Advisory Committee: One small incursion, one hint of something going wrong with biosecurity in New Zealand, and our reputation can be severely dented.

Janine Mayes, Chief Quarantine Officer, Border Clearance Services, MPI: Our income relies on us being able to export our primary industries. So if we don't have that any more, your lovely lifestyle will be reduced.

Kimberley Sell, Detector Dog Handler, Border Clearance Services, MPI: Talking to kids about biosecurity and why it's important for a small country like New Zealand to have biosecurity measures in place.

Alan Kirkpatrick, Rail and Road Services Supervisor, Port of Tauranga: It's for your exporters, it's for your importers, it's for your forest and bird people, it's for your farmers. It's basically for everyone. So it's just about being a good New Zealander. Every part of commerce can be affected.

Nadine Tunley, Chair, Pipfruit New Zealand: We're a 700 mil – coming up to 700 million dollar industry. All of the jobs that rely, through the packhouses, into the orchards, they're all the people that suffer.

Philip Hulme, Professor of plant biosecurity, Lincoln University: There's probably nowhere else in the world that takes it so seriously as New Zealand. We are entirely dependent on good agriculture production, and also on protecting our natural environment for tourism.

Bruce Wills, sheep and beef farmer, Northern Hawke's Bay: Very serious consequences if we don't get this right.

John Jones: Senior Quarantine Officer, Border Clearance Services, MPI: There are new problems evolving all the time; there's an insect called a [brown] marmorated stink bug.

Bruce Wills: Foot and mouth, heaven forbid.

Richard Calvert, National Biosecurity Capability Coordinator, AsureQuality: No one organisation can actually deliver what's going to be required in the worst case scenario. It's all about that New Zealand Inc if you know what I mean

Bruce Wills: We can't expect MPI to manage this. This is the special responsibility for all of us.

Barry O'Neil, Chief Executive, Kiwifruit Vine Health: We're learning off each other as to what we can and should do going forward. We've got skin in the game and we're committing to working to improve biosecurity.

Nadine Tunley: Every day New Zealanders should get involved in the importance of biosecurity because that's part of the learning.

Danielle King, Senior Quarantine Officer, Border Clearance Services, MPI: And that it's not just us, but it's a responsibility for all New Zealanders.

Barry O'Neil: If we don't participate and agree what needs to be done going forward, we can't then just throw rocks and complain that not enough is being done. So to me this is the opportunity for us to collectively agree what we want from our biosecurity system. And then we can look at, well how can we achieve that together.

Graeme Marshall: The Biosecurity Direction Statement will be at that high level. But it’s about the actions that are taken as a result of that that are going to make the difference and that's where those partnerships, the collaboration, the togetherness is going to make the difference. And that's where industry need to be involved, be part of the conversation and step forward.

Ruud Kleinpaste: It's not just MPI's domain to look after biosecurity. There's DoC, the Ministry for the Environment, and don't forget the Regional Councils, the landowners, Māori, Iwi - everybody is part of this. This is a big picture for New Zealand; we've got to be on board with that, surely?

[Upbeat music.]

The Ministry for Primary Industries thanks Christchurch Airport, Port of Tauranga, and everyone who has helped in the Biosecurity 2025 initiative.

[End transcript]