Wednesday, 24 April 2024 12:55

Celebrating success

Written by  Peter Burke
MPI director general Ray Smith. MPI director general Ray Smith.

The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.

He says biosecurity is more than just what happens on the farm - it's what's happened in waterways, at the border and in the community.

"What we want is to get a whole range of people who get involved in biosecurity, including kids in schools, and get lots of them looking for things like pests and diseases. In the case of children, they often come home with ideas and educate their parents," he says.

Smith says the goal is to get all Kiwis mobilised into supporting biosecurity.

Among the fifteen finalists were schools, iwi and local conservation groups, but also local councils, including the Waikato Regional Council and science institutions such as the Cawthorn Institute.

One of the major awards, the Minister's own Biosecurity Award, went to be long-serving Scion scientist Dr Brian Richardson in recognition of his outstanding contributions to NZ biosecurity over many years. Richardson has been involved in several eradication programmes including wilding pines and invasive insects like the painted apple moth, white-spotted tussock moth, and southern saltmarsh mosquito.

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