Dear Ministry for Primary Industries,
Myrtle Species and myrtle rust

1. Has MPI allowed the importation of Myrtle species from overseas
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes , please specify which countries the import have been allowed from and the years from 2000 since they have been imported, and the quantity from each country
3. If Myrtle species have been imported from overseas , then has there been a specific check by Bio Security at the border for myrtle rust as a part of the inspection process.
4. Have all myrtle species imported been subject to fungicide treatment on their importation?
5. If the myrtle species have been allowed as an import does MPI know where the plants were destined for.
6. If MPI knows the destination of the plants , are these the same locations that MPI has been targeting in their recent campaign to eradicated the problem
7. Has MPI analysised if there is any connection between the importation of the Myrtle species and the recent findings of myrtle rust in nurseries in NZ.

Yours faithfully,

John Hill