KEY POINTS:
The first time Sally Lewis spotted planes spraying for painted apple moths she stood awestruck by the impromptu air show above her home.
"We were told the spray was entirely safe so I just stood there watching the planes. It felt like soft rain landing on my skin, as harmless as that."
But within half an hour Mrs Lewis, now 62, of Kelston, was gasping for air and rushed to a doctor. .
Now, with just 46 per cent of her lungs remaining, the formerly keen yachtswoman and hiker says she is barely able to walk to her letterbox. She is on full disability pension as a result, she says, of chemical scarring to her lungs.
Her skin is scarred from the blisters she claims were caused by the spray and she can't tolerate strong sunshine. She has been warned that she will eventually have to rely on an oxygen bottle "at which point they might as well give me a spade".
Along with other victims, Mrs Lewis has been relocated three times by MAF, despite Government medical experts insisting her condition is "psychosomatic".
"I am on permanent steroids just to keep my lungs functioning. I had respiratory failure and ended up on life support for 3 1/2 weeks in 2004." She added: "I have two children in Australia and four grandchildren there and one daughter here and three grandchildren here and they are what keep me going.
"My message to (Bio-security Minister) Mr Anderton is this: 'Don't try and cover it up. You know you are at fault. An apology would be acceptable and if you ever think of doing this again, I would put myself in front of a plane." Her daughter, Nikki Ata, 39, said: "Seeing what has happened to mum is heartbreaking. Ana, her granddaughter can't understand why she has to keep going back to the doctor. How can that be allowed to happen in New Zealand?"
Medical experts last night demanded the Government conduct long-term monitoring of people claiming to have suffered illnesses as a result of aerial spraying campaigns in Auckland and Hamilton, following the release of a highly-critical report by the Ombudsman this week.
Dr Meriel Watts, author of a critical 2003 Report of the Painted Apple Moth Health Risk Assessment, said given the Ombudsman's findings the Government can no longer turn a blind eye to the situation.
"The Ombudsman has made perfectly clear that reassurances from the Government that there was no evidence of serious long term health effects of the spray Foray 48B were not acceptable."
Dr Simon Hales, an epidemiologist at Wellington School of Medicine said: "The fact that there are biologically active components in the spray is what causes me the greatest concern."
Mr Anderton rejected many of Mr Smith's recommendations and said he would do little different in a future campaign. He said the idea of requiring future spray campaigns to get resource consent was unworkable.
He also said Health Ministry and other advisers had ensured the Government had accurate advice on health implications.
But he acknowledged biosecurity officials were wrong to tell the public there were no health risks to the spray - especially when officials had told Cabinet otherwise. The Greens called the report a "damning indictment".
