By: Farming Show staff | Rural News | 5/17/2012
The Government is denying claims borders need to be tightened in the wake of last week’s Queensland fruit fly find in Auckland.
A trap in Avondale caught a single male fruit fly, sending shockwaves through the horticultural industry. No further insects have been caught.
Labour’s agricultural spokesperson Damien O’Connor says every airport in New Zealand is vulnerable to major bio-security intrusions and more money is needed to strengthen the borders.
But Primary Industries minister David Carter told the Farming Show there’s no chance of that happening.
“The important thing for me is to acknowledge that we will never have borders that we will absolutely guarantee will get everything,” Carter says.
“We’ve still got the same number of people, effectively, resourcing at the border. It’s a matter of targeting and making sure we spend more time on the more risky, and less time on the less risky.”
Related Subjects
Biosecurity | Fruit fly | Damien O'Connor | David Carter |