3283 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity

3283 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity: Why did it take over three weeks for Unwanted Organism status to be approved after the first queen hornet was discovered?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: The first queen hornet was reported on 17 October 2025, followed by further detections on 25 and 27 October. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) stood up a formal response on 3 November, and the Chief Technical Officer agreed to add yellow-legged hornets to the Unwanted Organism register on 11 November 2025. I am advised that MPI gathered the information needed to assess whether the organism should be added to the Unwanted Organism register between the first detection and the formal decision. In cases such as this response, the Chief Technical Officer takes advice and gathers knowledge from experts, including international experts who have dealt with the organism in question. The Chief Technical Officer weighs up the advice and knowledge against expectations on the impact to New Zealand (which may not be the same as overseas environments), before determining that an organism should be added to the Unwanted Organism register.