Friday 29 November saw 12 pledge members join with nine staff from BNZ, together with four from LPC and the BBP to participate in a biosecurity readiness workshop.
Expertly facilitated by Angus McKay, Assistant Commissioner Compliance & Response, BNZ, the morning session featured a hypothetical BMSB incursion scenario and what impacts a Controlled Area Notice may have. Participants were then tasked with a number of questions and taken through an evolving scenario which examined levels of readiness for organisations. I think it was best summed up by one participant who stressed the need for businesses to understand what life could be like in a response and make plans accordingly.
The session was expertly curated by BNZ staff with special thanks to Shelley Ashton for pulling it all together. The not-to-scale BMSB 3-D printed models were the real stars of the show – as per the photos. Special mention to Pledge members, the French Bakery, for providing a delicious, freshly created morning tea.
Stuart Anderson, Deputy Director-General, Biosecurity New Zealand, then addressed the group and spoke about the importance of partnership to the government-led biosecurity programme. MPI have consulted on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act.
After a quick working lunch, it was off to the bus for a tour of the Port.
LPC absolutely dominates the shoreline so it was good to be able to head for the surrounding hills to find a vantage spot to take it all in. Tony Simpson, Head of Bulk Cargo at LPC and chief conspirator with Shelley for the day’s events, did a magnificent job of not only explaining the inner workings of the biosecurity aspects of the Port (including a close of the transitional facility and the only dry-dock in New Zealand (think hull de-fouling) apart from the facility at Devonport Naval base.
Tony was also able to regale us with tales of Lyttleton’s wider history – which ran to the town’s last hanging (1918), early encounters with a German pirate, a nearby quarantine station and the gun emplacements – built but not required to protect against the prevalent Russian threat in the 1880s.
It was an excellent day with many highlights and a day that I am sure helped BBP members appreciate the intricacies of a potential response, the workings of a port and that they have colleagues nearby who have a shared interest in protecting what is important to us all. Ko tatou.
