Letter to Minister Potaka on urgent action needed on weeds

^{Banana passionfruit. James Newman, PCE.}

The Commissioner has written to the Minister of Conservation and the Minister for Biosecurity to highlight the ongoing threat that weeds pose to our native ecosystem.

His November 2021 report, Space invaders: A review of how New Zealand manages weeds that threaten native ecosystems detailed how fragmented leadership and insufficient resourcing has led to weeds being a pervasive, urgent and critical issue for biosecurity. The report set out steps to address this issue, but as yet progress has been minimal. In his letter, the Commissioner asks the ministers to prioritise a strategic and coordinated approach to improving weed information systems, monitoring and surveillance.