Myrtle rust discovered in Wellington region

The discovery of myrtle rust in the Wellington region has dashed hopes the infectious fungal disease had been halted at Te Puke and Taranaki. The Ministry for Primary Industries has been trying to contain the disease since if first appeared in Northland in May, but now it has been found on three ramarama plants in Lower Hutt. There are fears the disease could kill some native plants such as pohutakawa and manuka. Dr Catherine Duthie is the Ministry's response incident controller and tells us it's very disappointing.