Keeping unwanted pests and diseases away from our borders

Hon David Carter

In an effort to increase biosecurity at our borders, the Biosecurity Amendment Bill has been passed through Parliament.

This new law will double the instant fine to $400 for people bringing illegal food, plants and animals into New Zealand, in a bid to protect our ecosystem from unwanted pests and diseases.

This means that members of all of our communities need to be extra vigilant in ensuring that they are not breaking our country's biosecurity laws and that every person entering the country declares food or plant material.

This new law represents a major step towards improving border processing practices as well as cracking down on travellers who deliberately flout our biosecurity laws.

It is an important change to biosecurity at our border and sends a clear message about how seriously the Government takes New Zealand's biosecurity protection.

Our country's clean green image and relative lack of pests hangs on our border security and keeping unwanted diseases, animals and noxious weeds out of our delicate ecosystem.

Travellers who don't declare or dispose of products such as fruit and meat upon arrival pose a significant threat to New Zealand's economic, environmental, and social well-being.

The doubling of the instant fine for not making such a declaration is an appropriate reflection of the seriousness of this offence, and will increase awareness of New Zealand's strict biosecurity measures.

As well as raising the instant biosecurity fine from $200 to $400, the new Bill also increases the maximum penalty for conviction in Court for the same offence from $400 to $1000.

The Bill was passed with support from all parties in Parliament and represents our country's firm commitment to maintaining and protecting our nation's borders.