Te Ao Māori

Kiwifruit growers seek Psa advice

19:03 pm on 8 October 2014

The Maori Growers Forum is seeking legal advice to help its members decide whether to take part in a class action to sue the Government over the kiwifruit Psa outbreak.

A hui was held to inform tangata whenua growers about the case in Tauranga Moana yesterday.

The vine disease, which took hold in 2010, is estimated to have cost the industry $885 million.

Maori kiwifruit growers represent about 10 percent of the kiwifruit export industry, and the Maori Growers Forum represents a majority of those growers.

Forum chair Neil Te Kani says he has signed an open letter to Prime Minister John Key opposing the class action, along with about 80 percent of the kiwifruit post-harvest industry.

Mr Te Kani said the group would not be making a collective decision. Instead, he said individual members would be given legal advice so they can decide whether or not to join the lawsuit.

Papers for the case will be filed in the High Court next Friday.