Aerial Spraying - Coming Soon to a Suburb Near You

MAF is now considering aerially spraying an area larger than the west Auckland spray zone for the Gum Leaf Skeletoniser moth. Suburbs involved stretch from Onehunga to Manukau and include East Tamaki, Mangere and the Airport.

Extensive destruction of eucalyptus trees (the moth's favourite food) is already being carried out by MAF in south Auckland suburbs.

MAF has said that the moth could be wiped out with "only" a year of aerial spraying which it considers to be the most effective means of eradication.

MAF is also considering importing parasites from Australia. This and other non toxic alternatives to aerial spraying should be the methods of first resort rather than, as in the saga of the Painted Apple Moth - the last resort, said Helen Wiseman-Dare of West Aucklanders Against Aerial Spraying.

She said that, as the moth had already been here for at least two years and is now being found in over 40 sites this suggested it was already too late to achieve eradication.

She called on south Aucklanders today to make their concerns known to their local city councillors and MPs before it was too late to prevent the huge disruptions and extensive adverse health effects now being suffered by large numbers of west Aucklanders.

Many west Aucklanders have sold up and relocated to south Auckland to avoid the spray and many are evacuated there on spray day. If spraying takes place in south Auckland they will have nowhere to go.

She also noted that much of Auckland's food supply comes from growers and manufacturing companies in south Auckland including many organic growers who, if overseas experience was anything to go by, risked losing their organic certification when aerially sprayed with Foray 48B.

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