Anderton fired up over apple blight ban

New Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has laid into the Australians for dragging their feet on a biosecurity report about access for Kiwi apples.

The third-ranked minister met Australian High Commissioner Allan Hawke yesterday and told him New Zealand was "at the end of its tether" and had "lost patience" over the issue.

Australia has banned imports of New Zealand apples since 1921 for fear of fireblight disease, a reason criticised in recent years as being based on junk science and a front for a trade barrier.

In June applegrowers protested outside the High Commission in Wellington and Dr Hawke promised to relay their frustration to the Australian Government.

Applegrowers are now awaiting the release of a draft import risk analysis by Australian officials.

Their apples remained banned despite the World Trade Organisation finding that fireblight was not transmitted on mature fruit.

The Government in June said it would take the ban to a WTO committee - the first time New Zealand has taken a dispute with its CER partner to the trade body - to pressure Australia.

Mr Anderton, who has replaced Jim Sutton in the agriculture portfolio, said that in his meeting with Dr Hawke he indicated Australia must set the earliest possible date for the release of the analysis.

The analysis was the next step required in the approval process.

Dr Hawke said after his meeting he talked to Biosecurity Australia head John Cahill.

"I indicated to him that I wanted to go back to Minister Anderton by the end of the week, hopefully with a firm date on when the [analysis] would be released: "I'm expecting to hear from him in the next day or two."

Dr Hawke said he expected to know the content of the analysis by the end of the week.

This week applegrowers again protested outside the High Commission.