National cut front-line biosecurity staff and detection equipment at our airports and now this devestating fly has been found, alive, in New Zealand.
Nice work, National.
Was the kiwifruit virus not enough for you?
All fruit is at risk now.
All fruit.
10 comments:
Actually the fly has been discovered twice before over about 15 years, but I gurss that was also Nationals fault, like the Chch earthquake, yeah that was their fault, like the Japan tsunami, yeah that was their fault, like Waituna Lagoon, yeah that was their fault......
Don't be a silly, Towack. The Japanese tsunami's not their fault!
This biosecurity breach is though. Their job is to protect our primary industries from exactly this sort of threat. They cut frontline biosecurity staff. Whose fault, if not theirs, is it?
For an orchardist, this is deeply worrying.
yeah, but the flies were here before the cuts, you know it and I know it, discovered as I said twice over 15 years. Keep in mind when PSA hit the kiwifruit, or when varoa hit the bees, who was in power then?
If Labour allowed a fly in, then the blame falls on them, as it does for the introduction of varroa. I remeber though, that Eric Roy swore he'd keep it out of Southland. It's here now and he's in Government. National are allowing the importation of Australian honey also, Towack, are you aware of that and the alarm expressed by apiarists here?
I understood the PSA was imported while National was in Government, through a stupid pollen-importation policy - no?
Not sure really, I though Labour wrote the pollon policy.
As for Roy, words are cheap, what was he going to do, sit on the bordr with flyspray.
The flies however, were here in Helens time.
Helen Clark attracts flies??
I knew it!!!!
Towack - "An urgent investigation is underway on fears of an outbreak of Queensland fruit fly in Auckland.
If confirmed, it could be a major threat to New Zealand $3.3 billion fruit and vegetable export industry.
There has been no detection of any species of fruit fly in New Zealand since the discovery of a Mediterranean fruit fly back in 1996.
Robert, we can blame all Governments. After being told by the kindly Cathay Pacific staff I should present my dirty rugby boots after playing in Hong Kong, I gave them to a biosecurity staff member who recoiled and told me to "hurry up and put them away". That was in 2000. Same thing happened in 2008 with another filthy pair of boots.
"We can blame all Governments"
Indeed. I blame the present one for the present situation. Knowing however, that it has no effect upon the fruit fly, I hope against hope that fate will go the way of those incursions of the past and that this event will come to nought. I wonder if we are protected from the fly by our cooler climate? That hasn't, it has to be said, kept the varroa mite at bay. It irks me, I have to say, that Eric Roy made such a hypocritical,blustery, public fuss about Labour's incompetence when varroa appeared.
Still, I expect he'll be just as vocal in criticising his own team over this failure to protect our fruit industry. I recall he lambasted National for the PSA disaster...not.
All that being the case, Towack, what are your thoughts about National having cut front-line biosecurity staff?
Irresponsible?
Myopic?
Just plain stupid?
All of the above?
They said they wouldn't cut front-line anything. Are they liars as well?
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