Nine years after the Psa outbreak which decimated the kiwifruit industry in New Zealand, the Government has appealed the decision that found MPI negligent over the crisis.
The matter will now head to the Court of Appeal this week.
Kiwifruit Claim Chairman, John Cameron said he was confident the Court of Appeal would agree with the landmark 2018 High Court judgement, which found MPI was negligent on several different occasions when it allowed the deadly Psa disease into New Zealand.
“We firmly believe the Government is taking a massive risk in appealing Justice Mallon’s judgement. The High Court decision clearly determined that MPI failed in its biosecurity duties and owed kiwifruit growers a duty of care when carrying out these duties," he said.
“The evidence presented by over 60 witnesses during the 3-month trial, firmly established that MPI knew for many years that Psa was a significant risk to the kiwifruit industry and the outbreak was a result of the agency’s failures to follow its own protocols under the Biosecurity Act," he said.
The mass claim was against the government over damages for the PSA disease. (Source: Other)
“The Government’s appeal is disappointing. They are attempting to dispute this strong factual evidence and undermine Justice Mallon’s decision,” said Mr Cameron.
“The Psa incursion caused significant losses to many growers, many of whom still haven’t recovered and could easily have been avoided if MPI had done their job properly," he said.
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