Huge decrease in containers' biosecurity inspections

Email
Print

Container biosecurity inspections decrease

3News NZ

In the past three years, around 50 percent of international furniture removal consignments were inspected

In the past three years, around 50 percent of international furniture removal consignments were inspected

By Brook Sabin

A 3 News investigation has uncovered a huge decrease in the number of furniture removal containers being inspected as they enter New Zealand.

It follows the introduction of a new approach to inspection, and one industry insider says a biosecurity disaster looms.

One container was deemed low risk, so it wasn't inspected, but 3 News found something interesting – several types of South African spiders and some other maggot-like creepy crawlies.

Before we arrived, the container had been out in suburban Auckland, being unloaded.

In the end, it was brought back to the depot to be fumigated by biosecurity officials.

“Instead of most containers getting inspected, they've now created a points system,” says director at World Moving and Storage Raymond Dobbe. “They won't tell us what the point system is, but essentially if a container doesn't have enough points they won't bother inspecting it.”

In the past three years, around 50 percent of international furniture removal consignments were inspected. But since the new risk-based approach was introduced in March, inspection rates have fallen dramatically, to 24 percent.

Raymond Dobbe has records for numerous containers that weren't inspected – one with garden pots, a garden edger, wheel barrow and a lawn mower and catcher.

There was also another with a deer head, described as “big”.

“They used to be vigorous on inspecting that sort of thing and now it just doesn't matter,” says Mr Dobbe.

“Growers will be very alarmed, as I am to hear that,” says Andrew Fenton of Horticulture New Zealand. “I hadn't heard that before, and I will be seeking on behalf of Horticulture New Zealand an immediate discussion with the Ministry of Primary Industries.”

The inspection reductions come after 3 News revealed last month that more than two-million people had entered the country without a biosecurity x-ray.

Nobody from the Ministry of Primary Industries would talk for an interview, but they did release a statement strongly rejecting New Zealand’s biosecurity standards are more relaxed, saying the new approach is about best use of resources.

The ministry says it still inspects high-risk items such as used vehicles, dried flowers and bamboo furniture.

3 News

Post a Comment

Before commenting, please take the time to read our moderation guide


(Won't be published)



Comments

1/07/2012 10:41:14 a.m.

S wrote:

And we then get crops wiped out from disease, and illegal drugs/people entering the Country. The Govt cannot cut down in this crucial area which will put NZ at serious risk.

1/07/2012 10:24:32 a.m.

Mike wrote:

100% mis-information - pure media bullshit.

We still have bio-security. Every container imported into NZ is checked. In the above instance the container was found to have bio-risk and was handled according to procedure by qualified biosecurity-qualified staff.

If you have containers being imported, they do get checked as part of our bio-security. You need an accredited bio-security person at every container being opened, plus any site being used to unload containers is registered and approved. The difference now is you can do the course and be accredited vs wait for the ministry before. This has added flexibility, and possibly made our bio-security tighter.

If an accredited person fails to do their job properly, they will have that accreditation pulled. Plus there is still random checking, and auditing by the ministry.

The practice is the container is visually checked from the outside while on the wharf. The container is rated and some fumagated at this time. The containers are then moved to accreddited sites to be unloaded, which must have qualified bio-security for the container to be opened and while unloaded. If when the container is opened something is found, eg the spiders above, it goes back to be fumagated. Is also procedures to send minor contamination, like a mouldy piece of wood, to the ministry for destruction.

What we have is a movement in who does the bio-check, not that its being removed. In many ways, the system now is some ways tighter in that every container has to be checked now, but nolonger by the ministry but by ministry accredited people. They never checked every container before so we have deliberate mis-information about the changes.

If you know of any container not being checked properly, bring this to the ministrys attention and they will come down on whoever very hard and pull the accreditation of the site where the contianer is being unloaded, and pull the accreditation of anyone not doing the inspections properly.

30/06/2012 9:30:29 p.m.

Kim wrote:

Is it just me or does this have the feel of another leaky building fiasco. Bean counters have no business making these kinds of changes. its a bit like having a PM running a country when he has never ever even run any sort of business (that he owns)

30/06/2012 7:42:27 p.m.

Paul Doyle wrote:

New Zealands biosecurity is something we cannot screw with. There are tens of thousands of species it is well worth our while to keep out of our country. Not only could they threaten our primary industries but also our own health. There are many toxic species of spiders, disease vectors and the diseases themselves we do not have nor do we want. Disasterous introductions of unwanted species is something we have not learned nor have we learned from the mistakes of other countries. It appears the governments and biosecurity with its associated sciences of ecology and biogeography are mutually exclusive as we maske the same mistakes over and over again. The cheep option is government inspection every day we keep the nasties out is a celebration day. despite the risks the government believes the babble from the ignorant about self inspection with the carrot on the stick of savings which in an exotic disease or pest incursion soon evaporate. They are also trying to replace government inspectors with company inspectors just like australia did and like austrralia we will pay the price of 12 plus cshipment of meat condemned in the USA. Yes lots of savings to be saved so we are told by self or no inspection instead of thougher government inspection. Paul Doyle

30/06/2012 7:32:40 p.m.

Matthew wrote:

yes because dried furniture and flowers contain any organisms that could endanger living plant life. fungus eats dead stuff john key. its dead after its been heat treated. where as the PSA you most definitely now let into the country with your 'relaxed biosecurity' due to 'budget cuts' in all the wrong places IE your wallet has now resulted in farmers with vines they have to burn and loss of earnings. I feel sorry for anyone in new zealand who is dependent on import security to guarantee and protect their business. they won't be happy until a snake is discovered eating kiwis and then they will do something about this.

30/06/2012 7:12:21 p.m.

concerned wrote:

this is not acceptable that the people we have given responsibly to protect our own health and primary industries are so blatantly disregarding the common sense rule of 100% screening.I believe an individual hiding behind the boards and ministries who suggested the points system should be named. I believe the only way this sort of procedure is stopped going forward is that any person who suggests a process or rule needs to be named and any media attention focused on that person. For too long individuals who have come up with these bizarre ideas hide behind ,councils,boards and bureacracy