Biosecurity champions from across the country were recognised in Wellington last week with the announcement of the 2017 New Zealand Biosecurity Award recipients.

We are delighted that the ‘Biosecurity Excellence at Port of Tauranga’ initiative received the Industry Award, which recognises groups or organisations in industry that have demonstrated a significant contribution to improving New Zealand’s biosecurity integrity.

A partnership between KVH, the port, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), local government and industry organisations, the initiative has the goal of ‘no biosecurity incursions coming through the port’.

Everyone who works around the port - including the wider freight and logistics sector and the local Mount Maunganui community - is encouraged to play their role in keeping unwanted pests out of New Zealand. This is a community of just over 10,000 people operating on the front line.

All groups in the partnership are working together to sustain a port community that is committed to biosecurity excellence.

Activities include a biosecurity induction for all port workers, awareness campaigns focused on key pests such as the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB), hosting events like Biosecurity Week, regular biosecurity engagement with the wider port community, and distribution of wall planners, calendars and other useful information/alerts that highlight potential pests.

There is also a proactive approach to pursuing improvements in innovation in areas such as port surveillance, and understanding how new technologies can impact on biosecurity performance.

A key focus for the initiative is to develop a model that can be adapted and applied across all New Zealand ports. KVH and the other partners believe this can realistically be achieved by 2025.

The Minister for Primary Industries said at the ceremony that the winners of the awards have shown a real commitment to protecting New Zealand. The event celebrates the efforts of people who are doing their bit for biosecurity every day and reflects a key theme of the Biosecurity 2025 Direction Statement of a ‘biosecurity team of 4.7 million’ – something KVH is a keen supporter of and heavily involved in.

Our congratulations also go to the New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated (NZPPI) who received the Highly Commended award in the Industry category. NZPPI Board Chair Andrew Harrison – who is also KVH’s Biosecurity Programmes Manager – was on hand to accept the award in recognition of the work NZPPI does to ensure a strong and united voice on biosecurity issues for plant producers, especially during the recent myrtle rust response.