Staff at MPI are being accused of incompetence.

It comes with fears Kauri die-back could lead to the extinction of the iconic native tree.

Forestry Minister Shane Jones said it's a disaster and former Bio-security Manager at Auckland Council, Jack Craw, agrees.

He told Mike Hosking the problem is not with those at the top.

"Previous Minister of Conservation Maggie Barry was extremely concerned about the performance of MPI and she intervened to try and get a bit of action out of MPI, even though it wasn't her Ministry. So it's not a political issue, it's basically just staff incompetence, I think."

LISTEN ABOVE AS JACK CRAW SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING