Cassia Ferguson [cassiawattle@hotmail.com]
Monday, 4 July 2011 4:51 PM
BA - Plant Biosecurity Contact
New Zealand Apples
To Biosecurity Australia,
My name is Cassia Ferguson and I work in Sydney with a group of growers. I grew up on a small berry, apple and stone fruit farm and went on to study horticulture at university.
I am surprised to see such a relaxation of protocols for NZ apple imports, compared to Chinese apple imports. And the Chinese have not even confirmed they have fire blight.
I believe Australia needs to have the same rules for every country. If they have European Canker, then we mitigate using area freedom. There should not be different rules for different countries. Will China be pleased to see different rules for NZ apples?
We also need to see the IFP manual that all this is based upon. We cannot accept or comment on something that is in confidence. I call for transparency.
We need to audit the NZ growers, pack houses and exporters to ensure they are following the IFP manual. Are fire blight outbreaks declared under this IFP program?
We need to be inspecting for leaf trash, in the pack houses and upon arrival in Australia. A fire blight outbreak would be devastating, and we don't have the chemicals to control an outbreak (the chemicals are not even registered and the tolerance is zero on MRL for human consumption).
I do hope that the protocols for NZ apple imports are revised, as it is setting a terrible precedent for all other products, from all other countries.
Thank you,
Cassia Ferguson
M: 0409 917 333
E: cassiawattle@hotmail.com