Thread: Goodbye possums, rats and stoats

25th July 2016

To; The Right Honourable John key; Prime Minister of New Zealand
and: The Honourable Maggie Barry; Minister of Conservation.
Subject. Requests under the Official Information and Ombudsman’s Acts about your collective public broadcast announcements:
VIZ: John Key
25 JULY, 2016
New Zealand to be Predator Free by 2050
Prime Minister John Key has today announced the Government has adopted the goal of New Zealand becoming Predator Free by 2050.
“While once the greatest threat to our native wildlife was poaching and deforestation it is now introduced predators,” Mr Key says.
“Rats, possums and stoats kill 25 million of our native birds every year, and prey on other native species such as lizards and, along with the rest of our environment, we must do more to protect them.”
Mr Key says these introduced pests also threaten our economy and primary sector, with their total economic cost estimated at around $3.3 billion a year.





“That’s why we have adopted this goal. Our ambition is that by 2050 every single part of New Zealand will be completely free of rats, stoats and possums.
“This is the most ambitious conservation project attempted anywhere in the world, but we believe if we all work together as a country we can achieve it.”
The Government will lead the effort, by investing an initial $28 million in a new joint venture company called Predator Free New Zealand Limited to drive the programme alongside the private sector.
This funding is on top of the $60 to $80 million already invested in pest control by the government every year and the millions more contributed by local government and the private sector.
Predator Free New Zealand Limited will be responsible for identifying large, high value predator control projects and attracting co-investors to boost their scale and success.
The Government will look to provide funding on a one for two basis - that is for every $2 that local councils and the private sector put in, the Government will contribute another dollar.
“This ambitious project is the latest step in the National-led Government’s commitment to protecting our environment.
“We are committed to its sustainable management and our track record speaks for itself.
“This includes the decision to establish the world’s largest fully protected ocean sanctuary in the Kermadecs, better protection in our territorial sea and our efforts to improve the quality of our fresh waterways.
“We know the goal we have announced today is ambitious but we are ambitious for New Zealand.
“And we know we can do it because we have shown time and again what can be achieved when New Zealanders come together with the ambition, willpower and wherewithal to make things happen.”
• John Key
• Prime Minister


More specifically we request under the aforementioned Acts detailed validated technical and scientifically valid survey data and statistics proving the following claims made by you. Q1 and Q 2.

Q1 “Rats, possums and stoats kill 25 million of our native birds every year,

Q2 Mr Key says these introduced pests also threaten our economy and primary sector, with their total economic cost estimated at around $3.3 billion a year.
3 With regard to the following statement " The Government will lead the effort, by investing an initial $28 million in a new joint venture company called Predator Free New Zealand Limited to drive the programme alongside the private sector."
Q3a Please detail the names of the owners and directors of this company
Q3b Please confirm this company will be subject to the OIA and Ombudsman's Acts and subject to scrutiny by the Auditor General.
Q3c Please confirm that the staff, directors and contractor to this company will be subject to the NZ Civil / Public Service Codes of Conduct.
4 With regard to the following statement: " The Government will look to provide funding on a one for two basis - that is for every $2 that local councils and the private sector put in, the Government will contribute another dollar.
Q4a Many New Zealand residents are already under financial stress, and in particular superannuitants and beneficiaries. What provision will you make to ensure increased expenditure by Regional and Local Councils do not financially impact on these persons in the form of any increase in rates or other levies?
Q5 What guarantees will you provide to ensure the rights of private property owners and occupiers are not encroached upon by this scheme including the right to refuse access and to refuse the deposition of poisons such as 1080 and brodifacoum on their property?
Q6 What guarantees will you provide to ensure the rights of private property owners and occupiers are not encroached upon by this scheme including the guarantee of safety of animals pets and stock?
Q7 What guarantees will you provide to ensure the rights of private property owners and occupiers are not encroached upon by this scheme including a guarantee of nil pollution of water supplies for domestic, irrigation and animal use?
Q8 What guarantees will you provide that game animals, including deer, chamois, tahr, wildfowl, trout, birds and fish and the management as assets of these creatures will not be negatively impacted by this proposed scheme.
Q9 What guarantees will you give that indigenous flora and fauna and marine flora and fauna and fresh water will not be negatively impacted upon by this scheme.
Q10 What guarantee will you provide ensuring the rights of free access to public lands and waters will be maintained at all times?
Q11 Will you guarantee full and regular public reporting of fiscal and physical activities of the PFNZ LTD company and " the scheme" with an annual review of whether the concept should or should not be continued?
Q12 While we (NZWBM) agrees that the elimination of rats, mustelids and possums is desirable we also believe feral cats and rabbits should be included. However, we feel bound to point out that rabbits have been targeted for several decades and in fact were the reason 1080 poison was first mooted and used in NZ. Despite over 50 years of use of 1080 poison the rabbits, stoats, ferrets, weasels, polecats, cats and possums are still with us and it is notable that rabbit in particular, which inhabits much more open and accessible terrain than deep bush has failed to be eliminated by 1080 poison and shooting and trapping as well as numerous other poisons such as strychnine and introduced disease such as the coleisii virus.
The failure by all current and past means of controls to eliminate the feral rabbit is a clear indication of the very unlikely prospect of this scheme to succeed unless a completely new methodology is adopted. It is also a clear indication that the directions currently taken by DoC and the AHB / TBFree NZ LTD is inherently flawed and is not working anywhere nearly as well as is claimed.
It may in fact be worthy of your serious consideration to substitute the current per hectare costs of aerial poisoning which are audited at $57 per hectare (2010 AHB review audited costs) with applying those funds to trapping of various types immediately. This will have a better chance of achieving TB Free objectives and environmental gains than persisting with mass poison application. It would also relate more appropriately to your present aspirations for a predator free NZ.
Q 12a Would you be prepared to discuss this view with us?