The seriousness of meeting biosecurity requirements was highlighted recently with the company and director of a nursery who illegally took 220 imported plants out of quarantine after just one day, fined $42,500.

Elliott Wholesale Nursery Limited - which is not a kiwifruit nursery - is a Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) registered Post Entry Quarantine (PEQ) facility. Under the Biosecurity Act, imported plants should be in quarantine for three months.

In September 2022, the nursery imported 600 Nandina domestica tissue culture – an evergreen shrub from Australia. The plants were unpacked and placed in PEQ, where they needed to remain for the full three months. However, after just one day, Mr Elliot removed 220 of these plants, placing them in a non PEQ area.

To avoid detection and to circumnavigate the biosecurity rules designed to protect New Zealand from potentially unwanted pests and diseases, he replaced these plants with similar looking domestic plants, which he admitted doing to an employee who questioned him.

No pests or diseases were found on the plants that were taken out of the quarantine facility.