Budget boost for biosecurity

With New Zealands prosperity linked heavily to our agricultural exports, as a country we live and die by the quality of our biosecurity.

The recent major outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease in Japan and Korea, both countries we import heavily from, must strike fear in every exporters heart.

With the present Government prioritising lower spending by all departments, it is pleasing to see they have not brought down the axe on bio-security funding and in fact have increased it.

The recent capture of fruit fly at the border was a pleasing example the system is working, intercepting real risks.

Biosecurity will get $21 million in additional funds over the next four years following last month’s budget reports Rural News.

The extra funding is split $6.7m on capital and $14.3m on operations and will be used to develop the Joint Border Management System (JBMS), replacing current border clearance systems by MAF/NZ Customs Service.

“The system will be a collection of shared services, hosted predominantly by Customs, to support the clearance of passengers and goods across New Zealand’s border,” says Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister David Carter.

Customs Minister Maurice Williamson says the new system will bring Customs and MAF Biosecurity processes together under the same system, providing improved security and productivity at New Zealand’s borders.

“The computer systems at Customs and MAF were more than 12 years old and could no longer support the increasingly diverse demands of border management and the increased volumes of trade and travel.