5. Biosecurity Management—Offshore Inspections and Stink BugsHon NATHAN GUY (National—Ōtaki) to the Minister for BiosecurityBiosecurity Management—Offshore Inspections and Stink Bugs5. Hon NATHAN GUY (National—Ōtaki) to the Minister for Biosecurity: Does he stand by all his statements in relation to biosecurity?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister for Biosecurity): Yes in the context in which they were given.Hon Nathan Guy: How can the Minister stand by his statement in the House on Tuesday last week that no vehicles were unloaded off the ships carrying stink bugs from Japan recently when the Courageous Ace vessel unloaded approximately half of its vehicles before loading was halted and those cars trucks and buses sat on the wharf for several days prior to being reloaded back on to the vessel?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: The information I had was that none had been unloaded. I will follow up on that. The important thing to know here—regardless of the actions that took place—is that we are absolutely committed to keeping out the brown marmorated stink bug something that that member failed to do because he failed to resource the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and their biosecurity responsibilities properly.Hon Nathan Guy: I seek leave to table an email from a local resident Mr Stephen Chester who outlined to me that half of these cars trucks and buses were unloaded off the—SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? There appears to be none. The member may table it.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Nathan Guy: I seek leave to table an email from Mitsui OSK Lines who are in charge of the Courageous Ace. It goes on to say that MPI directed us—SPEAKER: No. Order! Is there any objection to this document being tabled? There appears to be none. It will be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Nathan Guy: How can the Minister say that the biosecurity net is working well last week when in November last year 15 live stink bugs—nine of them female—went on a 1000-kilometre road trip to Christchurch having already passed MPI's inspection in Auckland?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: I have to admit that the biosecurity system we took over had huge holes in it. As we have discovered those holes we have moved immediately to shut them down. Can I say that of the 1200 import health standards that govern—SPEAKER: Order! No. The member will resume his seat. David Bennett will stand withdraw and apologise.Hon David Bennett: I withdraw and apologise.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Can I say that the biosecurity system that we took over from the National Party was full of holes. In fact of the 1200 import health standards that the previous Minister was responsible for very few had been reviewed and upgraded. That's why we are having to move through every part of the biosecurity system to give security to those New Zealand producers in the country—because we desperately need them.Hon Nathan Guy: How can he reconcile his statement We cannot afford to let … in [stink bugs] and we will shut down the pathways [whenever] we find them." when large construction equipment was left on the wharf for days prior to it being eventually fumigated?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Once again I can't explain the protocols and systems left to us by the previous Government. But I can tell you that we're working through every one of those and every member of the biosecurity system in this country knows that they've got a new Government with a new focus on biosecurity; they don't have the same lazy old lax one that they had in the past.Hon Nathan Guy: When in this week's Farmers Weekly he's quoted as saying he's "not able to call the shots." has he requested new urgent funding for extra resources in Japan after stating that MPI does not have enough people offshore to inspect every vehicle; if not why not?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: The statement regarding "calling the shots" is that I don't write the cheques for compensation. In regard to the offshore resources for MPI and the new Biosecurity New Zealand we don't have enough people to inspect every single car being loaded on to a ship but I can tell you that the protocols around that will be upgraded and offer us security that was never there under the hundreds of thousands of cars that that member let into this country."