NZ kiwi growers take government to court over psa losses
The 16ha orchard near Te Puke used to produce 209,000 trays a year of the green, Hayward variety of kiwifruit.
"One morning I went up there and the trial variety had tipped over completely."
Suddenly his output was down to 40,000 trays and he was unable to sustain his debt. Jeffries was faced with a stark choice: borrow more and put his home at risk, or cut his losses and sell. He took what felt like the less risky option and sold up – getting just over $2m for an orchard that had been valued at $4.5m before he discovered the disease.
Now, Jeffries is one of 212 growers who have joined the Kiwifruit Claim, a class action suing the Government for negligence over the Psa incursion.
The class action is being run by litigation funder the LPF Group, and the trial will begin in the High Court at Wellington on August 7. The growers claim the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) had a duty of care to protect them at the border and breached that duty.
The claimants believe their "smoking gun" was a shipment of anthers, the pollen-bearing part of a flower's stamen, that was allowed in without any restrictions or quarantine requirements in the mistaken belief that Psa couldn't be transmitted by pollen.
MPI is also expected to argue any liability on the Crown for losses is covered by the $25m compensation scheme made available to growers. The stakes couldn't be higher – the growers are claiming losses of $376m and success could expose the Government to claims by other sectors affected by disease and pests.
The claim has split the industry, with many of the country's 2500 growers not wanting to rock the boat by taking on the Government in court.
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