There is a rather scary thread running through many agricultural stories of late, one that may potentially tarnish the clean green 100% pure image that we have always prided ourselves on.

Over the last 10 days, the three letters P-S-A have taken on a whole new meaning.

Nothing to do with the public service anymore, those letters now spell possible doom for the kiwifruit industry and I’m sure a few  headaches for the MAF Bio Security team whose task is to keep these nasties out of our country.

This blight on the $1.5 billion industry is much like what is facing the potato industry with the potato/tomato psyllid causing potential havoc in our spud paddocks.

And, of course, we can’t forget the Varroa mite which has spread its influence and is decimating the bee industry both here and around the world.

It’s certainly been a tough few months for Treasury.

After handing out tax cuts, the Government has had to put its hand in its pocket for South Canterbury Finance.   The speed of that decision is still baffling and one wonders if they would have made that same decision today.

Then there was the devastation of the Christchurch earthquake and the Southland snow storm, not to mention the compensation costs for last summer’s drought in Northland.

So paying out to the Kiwifruit farmers seems fair enough, but I bet the potato and tomato growers will now be circling the wagons for similar help for their blight plight.

These examples of biosecurity breaches must be linked firmly at a de-emphasis of the valuable work of the border patrols.

Without doubt, it is now time to look very carefully at ways to prevent further grubby little heebie greebies from settling down to life in a land we once lovingly and perhaps glibly referred to as Godzone.   100% pure.

Yeah, right!