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John Bisset / Stuff
Jeremy Talbot is fighting a fine for failing to declare his muddy boots at Christchurch airport.
A South Canterbury farmer says being fined for not declaring his dirty boots at the border is “injustice” and his fight “is not over yet.”
Jeremy Talbot, 63, appeared before two justices of the peace in Christchurch District Court on Thursday for making an erroneous statement, a crime under the Biosafety Act.
Talbot, a farm machinery trader and former chairman of the South Canterbury Federal Farmers Arable section, told the court that he was a member of the organization’s biosecurity committee.
A Federated Farmers spokesperson confirmed that Talbot was a member, but said it did not have a biosecurity committee.
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Four members of the staff of the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) appeared as witnesses in Thursday’s trial with only one judge.
BIOSECURITY NZ
Biosecurity New Zealand released an onboard video in June 2019 to remind visitors of the importance of keeping pests and diseases away.
The court heard that Talbot was returning from a six-day business trip to the UK on December 10 last year, when a quarantine officer at Christchurch International Airport noted that he had skipped a section of his passenger arrival card. .
The official repeatedly asked him to say which countries he had visited in the previous month, but Talbot replied: “I have just been abroad … I’m from New Zealand.”
The man said Talbot was growing impatient and sent him to have his luggage X-rayed.
The X-ray machine operator detected organic matter on the soles of a pair of boots and asked another staff member to search Talbot’s bag.
“My inspection revealed that the shoes were contaminated with plant material and dirt,” he said.
The man described Talbot as “confrontational from the start.” Several staff members saw him demanding the man’s personal details and threatening to call Minister for Primary Industries Damien O’Connor.
Talbot was issued a $ 400 infringement notice, but went unpaid.
Kirk Hargreaves / Things
Talbot landed at Christchurch International Airport after a six-day trip to the UK in December 2019.
Talbot claimed that the MPI employee was aggressive and repeatedly pointed at the arrival card while saying “he filled it out wrong.”
The staff member denied it.
Talbot claimed that he filed a formal complaint about the man’s behavior.
He said the boots, which he carried to the courtroom in a clear plastic bag, might have picked up some debris after running through a wet parking lot, but he hadn’t used them for “any outdoor activities as described in the guide. from MPI “. .
“I walked through the parking lot, that was it. To be honest, I didn’t think they had anything on them. “
MPI attorney John Whitcombe said Talbot had a lot of experience with biosecurity matters, particularly given his work as a farm machinery dealer.
Talbot had set up a cleaning plant in the UK, where farm machinery was dismantled and steam cleaned to reduce biosecurity risks.
Justice of the Peace Andrew Webster fined Talbot $ 400 and ordered him to pay $ 30 in court costs and $ 500 to MPI.
“Working with the officers instead of against them could work to your advantage. Threats to the minister don’t really like us, ”he told Talbot.
Jess Parker / Stuff
Jeremy Talbot claims that MPI has been “obstructionist throughout.”
Talbot said the violation would likely have a severe impact on his business.
“We are currently classified as Class 1 importers. We have the highest rating with MPI… which is why I am here today, to defend that reputation.
“I can see that this causes endless obstacles.”
After his sentence was passed, Talbot yelled, “This is an injustice, and it is not over yet.”
He was seen muttering something to an MPI quarantine officer as he left the courtroom.
Talbot said he planned to appeal his sentence because it took MPI more than six months to provide CCTV footage of the airport incident, and when it did, it was in “unusable format.”
