It is no surprise the Toxic Agrichemical Advisory Forum has been sidelined by Tauranga City Council. The same scenario exists with the Advisory Spray Group I've spearheaded with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, local community leaders and the key players in the kiwifruit industry.

I too have walked away from this forum with little or no confidence that the voice and concerns of the public are being listened to.

In fact if anything the situation has got far worse, given the annual spray campaign against Hi-Cane has been dwarfed by the monthly application of copper-based sprays to combat Psa-V.

Notification, as required by law, is a novelty now at best and is not happening in our rohe.

We now live in what I believe is ‘The Spray of Plenty' and sooner than later it will have a negative impact on why people choose to come and live here.

If they (the industry), expect us to believe everything is kapai and the saturation of our whenua with chemicals for profit is acceptable, then they are wrong and need to take the issue seriously, as they do with the perception of their brands offshore.

It seems the best course of action is to let as many people as possible know the true extent of how much spray is being applied and how many times a year.

Also, regional council needs to meet the demands of our concerns and conduct the first-ever scientific tests on the effect of Hi-cane and copper-based sprays on human health and the health of the land.

Then just maybe they will wake up and smell the chemicals we have no choice but to breathe.

The old adage ‘less hui and more dooey' comes to mind.

T Kapai, Te Puna.


BOPRC responds: Mr Kapai has been an asset to the Spray Focus Group, and his contribution and innovative incentives will be missed by his Te Puna Community and this group.

The group, formed in 2009, following concerns from the community, and was made up of local people, Zespri, NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc, spray contractors, council staff and councillors.

The group has come a long way since its first meeting, with on-going improvements.
In July 2013, the group was extended to include Federated Farmers and the avocado industry, so the focus is on agri-chemical spraying in general.

We don't agree the situation has worsened. Since the discovery of Psa-V, substantiated complaints have declined, we believe as a direct result of initiatives instigated by the group and its stakeholders.

We realise it's difficult to appease everyone when it comes to such a sensitive issue, but we need to maintain balance between individual concerns and the industry.
In August, 2006, ERMA (now the EPA), completed a reassessment of Hi-Cane and found overall controls were satisfactory, with a few minor technical changes, taking into account work the industry had put into developing alternative sprays and equipment to help reduce the risk of spray drift.

The council encourages people to use its Pollution Hotline to report spray complaints on 0800 884883.

John Morris,
Senior Pollution Prevention Officer,
BOP Regional Council.