Meet the team - introducing John Mather

John joined the KVH team in May 2013 as National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) Analyst and Compliance Officer.

He plays a key role in implementing the plan, including all aspects of compliance. John is an Authorised Person under the Biosecurity Act and issues permissions for requested movements of risk items including kiwifruit plant material used for (non-Psa) research, and machinery movements where KVH authorisation is required. John also works with landowners to ensure that NPMP mandatory requirements around orchard management are met.

John has an overall management role, working with Regional Councils and landowners, to ensure that any wild kiwifruit infestations are detected and destroyed. Access to control sites can be challenging; contractors occasionally abseil to sites on the sides of near vertical gullies. Thousands of wild plants are controlled annually through this collaboratively funded programme.

Before joining the KVH team, John coordinated biosecurity programmes for the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and worked with the Pacific Invasives Initiative on pest management programmes in Micronesia, Tonga and Tahiti. He has also represented regional councils on several advisory and steering groups, including Forest Biosecurity Coordination, Marine Biosecurity and the National Biocontrol Collective.

When John’s not working for KVH he’s running his family’s two-hectare small farm at Welcome Bay and trying to squeeze in some sailing or fishing in or out of Tauranga harbour.