Around 200 attendees from New Zealand and Australia attended the Protecting to Grow New Zealand Biosecurity Forum 2016 and Biosecurity 2025 implementation workshops in late November. The forum was co-hosted by GIA and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

A key theme of the forum was Biosecurity 2025. The direction statement for New Zealand’s biosecurity system was launched by the Hon Nathan Guy at the opening of the forum which marked the beginning of collaborative planning for implementing Biosecurity 2025.  

The GIA Deed Governance Group (DGG) member, Jen Scoular (Chief Executive, NZ Avocado) presented the session ‘Primary producers as a critical line of defence’.

Speakers linked information about emerging technologies and expert knowledge and discussed how this information will help to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity system through to 2025. Speakers included Canadian-based community-based social marketing expert - Dr Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Bugman - Ruud Kleinpaste, Founder and CEO of Medicine Mondiale - Sir Ray Avery, Deputy Secretary, Australia Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources - Lyn O’Connell, Chief Science Advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister - Sir Peter Gluckman, and Director-General, Department of Conservation - Lou Sanson.

A key highlight of the forum was Minister Guy presenting Dr John Hellström with the inaugural Minister’s Award for a lifetime contribution to protecting and growing New Zealand through biosecurity.  

The second day of the forum featured a series of workshops where attendees had the opportunity to participate in planning for the implementation of the Biosecurity 2025 strategy. Each workshop concentrated on one of the five strategic directions in the Biosecurity 2025 Direction Statement. Attendees worked in groups to brainstorm the actions required to deliver the goals for each strategic direction. Findings from these discussions will form the starting point for implementation planning, which will be led by a steering group to be established in the New Year. DGG partners significantly contributed to the workshop sessions and took an active role, including facilitating a couple of the workshop sessions. GIA will continue to be a key player as the strategy is implemented over the next years.