52435 (2025). Scott Willis to the Minister for Biosecurity

52435 (2025). Scott Willis to the Minister for Biosecurity: What actions, if any, is the Minister taking to eradicate yellow-legged hornets in New Zealand?

Hon Andrew Hoggard: I am advised that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has initiated a biosecurity response with the aim of eradicating the yellow-legged hornet from New Zealand. There are around 100 personnel from across MPI involved in the response. As the situation develops, MPI will be able to surge more staff into the response as needed. Staff are deployed across a number of areas such as laboratory analysis, investigation, field operations, intelligence, and logistics support. A wide range of resources have been engaged to manage the response, with surveillance efforts including traps placed across key suburbs and extensive public engagement through markets, mail drops, and media. Daily stakeholder updates are being provided to industry groups, iwi, and government partners, while a Technical Advisory Group of national and international experts is guiding the response strategy.