Almost $100 would be cut off a return airfare to Australia under Australian budget airline Jetstar's plan to simplify transtasman travel by doing away with immigration checks.
But Federated Farmers views Jetstar’s desire to do away with trans-Tasman border controls as short sighted commercial self-interest.
"This is all about Jetstar’s commercial self-interest so it can fly from lower cost airports like Wagga Wagga or Whanganui," says Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President said in an emailed statement.
“It would take 670,000 flights at the $94 saving, just to match the $63 million we’ve spent on eradicating the painted apple moth, which is a minor pest there but deemed a major risk here.
“This isn’t about protecting bureaucrats but about reducing the 400 plus unwanted pests and organisms that enter New Zealand each year. I also have some further advice for Jetstar, fly here with our biosecurity or don’t, it’s called choice.
“There’s huge risk from air passengers carrying contaminated products in both directions.
“We’ve both got nasties that each country wishes to avoid. The slightly venomous Gum Leaf Skeletoniser is now endemic here and if not checked by a biological control, could cause $141 million worth of damage. Imagine what termites would do.
“Just in May, a consignment of fruit from Queensland contained viable fruit fly eggs, so imagine how easy that would be if infected fruit was carried on the person or left in a carry-on bag.
“Last year a cane toad even snuck through biosecurity in Queenstown and we were fortunate it made its winter break for freedom in a shop right in front of a guide, who also happened to be a part-time MAF employee.
“If that toad was pregnant and got loose in the Waikato it could have been an environmental disaster. Yet these risks aren’t all one-way, the infamous myth of fire blight notwithstanding.
“I don’t think the Australian Government would like Didymo entering Australia. Nor would they want the varroa mite that has heavily damaged our bee industry. Combined these are causing millions of dollars in damage but in Australia, millions would easily become billions.
“Our bee keepers meanwhile don’t want Australian honey infected with European foulbrood, which could easily come across our border if there were no controls.
“Somehow I think Australian foresters, including those of the carbon variety, would be aghast if the burnt pine longhorn beetle took up Jetstar’s offer to ‘lets fly Jetstar’.
“Federated Farmers stance is simple and that’s all day every day biosecurity,” Mr Nicolson concluded.
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