30982 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity

30982 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for Biosecurity: What, if any, risk management measures or actions does MPI require when a pest is classified as a "hitchhiker pest" during import health standard development?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: I am advised that “hitchhiker pests” are generally associated with transport pathways, such as containers, vehicles, vessels and equipment. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has separate standards for these types of goods, and high-risk hitchhikers (like brown marmorated stink bug) are managed based on a very good understanding of their behaviours. MPI assesses the risk on import pathways and, where necessary, applies targeted biosecurity controls such as inspection, cleaning, treatment, or other import requirements. This pathway-based approach ensures that appropriate measures are applied where they are most effective to protect New Zealand from hitchhiker pests.