Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8246. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
11. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister for Primary Industries 
: Has he received a report from the Ministry for Primary Industries that identifies the pathway by which Psa bacteria entered New Zealand? 
Hon JO GOODHEW (Associate Minister for Primary Industries) 
 on behalf of the Minister for Primary Industries: My predecessor the Rt Hon David Carter received a briefing from the Ministry for Primary Industries on the possible pathways by which Psa could have entered New Zealand. The report does not identify a single likely pathway but does identify pollen and people movements as the most likely pathways. This report is available on the Ministry for Primary Industries’ website. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Has he received any advice about a shipment of anthers from Shaanxi province in China to Kiwi Pollen Ltd in June 2009; if so what was the advice? 
Hon JO GOODHEW 
: I have not been given any advice that the Minister is aware of that. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: What assurances can he give the public that the Ministry for Primary Industries and its predecessor the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have been totally objective and rigorous in investigating the biosecurity breach by which Psa bacteria entered New Zealand and devastated the New Zealand kiwifruit industry? 
Hon JO GOODHEW 
: Since the incursion that brought Psa to New Zealand there have been a number of reports. The first report was a business-as-usual report—the pathway tracing report—that looked at what could possibly have been the ways in which Psa came to New Zealand. The second report was commissioned by the director-general Wayne McNee—an independent report called the Sapere report. That looked again at what the possible pathways of Psa into New Zealand actually were and also made some recommendations. I am aware that there is one other report again an independent report from a gentleman down in Dunedin which has made a suggestion about where in fact the origin of Psa has come from. But I can assure the member that the recommendations are being looked at by the Ministry for Primary Industries and that we take this matter very seriously indeed. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Has the Ministry for Primary Industries used the research of Associate Professor Russell Poulter of the department of biochemistry at Otago University who has undertaken genetic analysis to trace the particular Psa bacteria strain that entered New Zealand; if not why not? 
Hon JO GOODHEW 
: The Minister is aware of the report. The Minister is aware that the report suggests Psa arrived in New Zealand from China rather than Italy. This is not unexpected but the research does not point to a definitive pathway into New Zealand. The Ministry for Primary Industries will continue to look at any new evidence that might suggest pathways and might suggest ways in which we can improve the biosecurity in New Zealand to prevent things like Psa coming into New Zealand again and affecting the industry as Psa has done. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: What assurances can he give the public that the investigation into the biosecurity breach by which Psa bacteria entered New Zealand has not been constrained or limited—has not been constrained or limited—in order to avoid opening up the Ministry for Primary Industries and its predecessor the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to legal action on the grounds of negligence and a failure to exercise a proper duty of care? 
Hon JO GOODHEW 
: I can assure the member that this is being taken very seriously and in fact the very independence of the Sapere report means that the Ministry for Primary Industries is taking it seriously and is not looking to conduct just an in-house investigation. Of course the initial report was a business-as-usual pathway report as I mentioned in my first answer. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: What does that mean? 
Hon JO GOODHEW 
: The pathway tracing report. But then an independent report was commissioned—the Sapere report. I believe that points in fact to no covering off the opportunity to find out exactly what happened in this case.