Gillard bobbing for Kiwi  Apples


TASMANIAN growers are outraged that New Zealand apples may soon be allowed into Tasmanian markets.

Australian apple growers face an influx of cheap imports from across the Tasman after Prime Minister Julia Gillard confirmed yesterday that she would no longer fight international demands for looser quarantine rules.

Ms Gillard was greeted by loud applause in the New Zealand Parliament yesterday when she confirmed that she had accepted a World Trade Organisation order for Australia to drop tough restrictions on imported apples.

"Let me be clear that Australia accepts the verdict of the global umpire and will implement the WTO rulings on the importation of New Zealand apples into Australia," she told NZ parliamentarians.

The trans-Tasman neighbours have battled over apple imports since 1921.

Fruit Growers Tasmania spokeswoman Lucy Gregg said the arrival of New Zealand apples could devastate local orchards if the risk analysis assessment by Biosecurity Australia wasn't tight.

"These protocols need to ensure our industry is protected, seeing that the imports will be on the way," Ms Gregg said.

Apple growers across the country have been warning that diseases like fire blight could be spread from NZ imports.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson last year ordered Biosecurity Australia to conduct a scientific review of quarantine rules.

Ms Gillard yesterday defended Australia's appeals against the WTO ruling.

"You would expect that in a rules-based trading system, which is what our world trade system is through the WTO, that as a nation we would use those rules and use appeal rights as they were made available," she said.

"But the umpire has now spoken, we will abide by the decision."

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2011/02/17/207701_tasmania-news.html


"But the umpire has now spoken, we will abide by the decision."

________________________________________


   The umpire ?



She's full of herself, has basically said, appeal it if you like, but I'm impressing my NZ mate here so tough luck, the decisions already made.

Is she right there?


If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's trying to commit political suicide, why on earth would she want to p1ss the farmers off like this?


 

Quote:
-Gillard

This is sounding a tad Orwellian, what an 'odd fellow' she is.

Global umpire?

Gillard would have to be the dopiest bitch I have ever came across, and the sooner someone displaces here the better for ALL Australians before she has us in a black hole we can never get out of.

If anyone ran their business the way she is running the Australian economy, they would be out backwards in 6 months.  This stupid skank wouldn’t be able to run a brothel next to a pub! 

NZ will only let Australia invest $500million in their country, but Australia will let NZ invest $1billion in ours.

What’s wrong with this picture?   

I really don’t know why she just doesn’t put Australia for sale on Ebay and be done with it.

I'm guessing that this may have something to do with exchange rates - see: -

http://www.x-rates.com/d/AUD/table.html

New Zealand Dollar          1.32753         0.753276

I would like to believe the exchange rates are a true indication of this difference, but we all know they are just fantasy, and that NZ would just increase the price of their business or product to match the AUD, so Australia wouldn't really be getting value for money would we.

Lets just hope Mel this political suicide is fast and not slow, I want this nut-case bitch gone ASAP

I've looked into it, Gillard had no say in the matter...we had banned apples coming in from New Zealand for the past 90 years, but now, a rather Orwellian WTO (World Trade Authority) calls the shots it seems and tells us who we trade with, like it or not.

I knew what the WTO was, and it's association with WHO, though didn't realise they had this much power over governments, they really are the umpire, Gillard called it like it was, for once.

New Zealand apples are known to be infested with a disease called fire Blight, and once it's in, it's in....no turning back...bit like our fruit fly...only this attacks pears and your lovely garden roses also.

Happy Valentines!



They will more than likely introduce them to Tas first, to see what happens, so if it catches on, then it's contained, and not allowed to spread on the mainland at least...mean hu..

Poor Tasmanians, if we aren't grafting limbs onto the backs of their necks for spare parts, we are contaminating their produce with fire blight.


Anyway...
Our government cut scientific research/testing funding to screen produce some years ago, and now we lack the scientists required to test this produce properly ourselves it seems, though I dare say we will import a team, we will have to.

This or give our own horticulturists a crash-course.

Anyway, read up on it at your discretion if you are interested in it...I for one am, and am not overly keen on some Owellian-like WTO telling our nation who we must trade with, like it or not.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10691132&ref...



You guys really need to read 1984, by George Orwell, if you haven't already...



Fire Blight is a bacteria btw... in case you were wondering!