Sutton Jim: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Sutton Jim: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:627;Page:22146] 
Hon JIM SUTTON (Minister for Biosecurity) 
: 
 It is certainly a good indication of the level of desperation in the National Party that its spokesperson on agriculture should spend his call in the biosecurity estimates debate trying to paint some whitewash over the comments made by his leader Dr Don Brash when we found we had the threat of the release of the foot-and-mouth virus on Waiheke Island. There is no question that Dr Brash was caught out in public saying that he was very surprised that the New Zealand Government would make this matter public. Frankly subsequent events proved that that was entirely the wise thing to do. The Government had responded completely appropriately and Dr Brash had put his big foot right in his mouth put the other foot in there after it and danced a jig to the acute embarrassment of his troops back here in Parliament. They had to take him outside to explain the whole matter to him in words of one syllable. Subsequently after that he kept his mouth shut. I think those words were all of one syllable: “Keep your mouth shut Don”. That was sound advice but of course he has been following that advice only spasmodically every since which gives us some confidence in the approaching election. 
I want to speak on the matter of biosecurity because the one thing that I do agree on with the member who has just resumed his seat—or who has beaten a hasty retreat—is that biosecurity is extremely important to New Zealand. The New Zealand economy is founded upon exotic species— both plant and animal species—that are not indigenous to New Zealand. Fortuitously as much as by good management those species were imported largely without the serious pests and diseases that accompany them and limit their productivity in other parts of the world. We have to put a lot of effort into trying to maintain that comparative advantage and we do. 
When this Government took office we found an absolute mess. We found a growing number of tourists and crew coming into this country without being examined or inspected to make sure they were not bringing in risk material. Research showed that tonnes and tonnes of meat products that could carry foot and mouth disease were coming in unchecked in pockets in cabin bags and in hand bags of passengers coming to New Zealand and being distributed around New Zealand. They were being chucked out car windows and so on. The incursion of fruit fly in Auckland some years ago was caused by someone bringing in a capsicum with fruit fly larvae. No doubt the passenger whistled his way through the airport because the Government of the day had not put enough quarantine officials on the job to do it properly. 
We have done the job. We have made New Zealand’s quarantine system the most rigorous system at the border of any country in the world and we will keep it that way. We now ensure that every sea-freight container is opened in the presence of a properly authorised trained person. We have stemmed the flow of new incursions in the face of an ever-increasing torrent of freight and travellers and we will make the system better and better. Continuous improvement is the only rational responsible response to the situation and the challenges that we face. It was not happening before we took office and now it is. 
If the member who spoke before me is saying that from now on this will be a bipartisan policy I would say that is great; it is good to see a man big enough to admit his failures and mistakes and undertake to mend his ways in the future. I hope he is speaking for all his colleagues although it will be some years before we find out.