Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members Question No. 7 to Minister  
Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members Question No. 7 to Minister  
[Volume:620;Page:15375] 
8.  
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
: When will the Government make a decision as to whether New Zealand will ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety? 
Hon JIM SUTTON (Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
: Shortly. If the Government does decide to ratify the protocol it will take that decision in time to enable New Zealand to participate in the next meeting of parties which will be held in June 2005. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Does the Government agree with the aim of the protocol which is to allow countries to protect their biodiversity from the potential risks posed by trade in living modified organisms; and does the Government agree with the approach taken by the protocol which is to use a cooperative multilateral system of advance notifications of such trade? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: New Zealand signed because we broadly support the biosafety principles underpinning the protocol. We do however have some concerns about the way the protocol is developing so we wish to make the decision as to ratification carefully. 
Luamanuvao Winnie Laban 
: What would be the implications of ratification for New Zealand’s biosecurity regime? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: For imports New Zealand’s biosecurity regime already fully meets the standards set by the protocol. If New Zealand ratifies the protocol it will have to create a legal requirement to ensure that New Zealand exporters of living GMOs meet certain requirements of the protocol. Regulations would be required to implement this. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Is it true that 107 United Nations member States have already ratified clearly believing that a multilateral cooperative approach offers the best security and is it also true that unless we ratify we get no say on how the protocol is implemented and further developed? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: Yes approximately 107 countries have ratified the protocol. New Zealand however will make its own decision and it is not certain that we could have much say in the further development of the protocol even if we did ratify. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: What disadvantages could there possibly be for New Zealand in ratifying given the Hon Marian Hobbs’ statement to this House 12 months ago: “New Zealand’s domestic regulation for managing genetic modification is already consistent with and in some ways stricter than the [Cartagena] protocol”—a statement that the Minister himself has just repeated? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: That is correct as I said before in respect of imports. However in respect of exports the protocol is still evolving. We do not know the full nature of the legal obligations that New Zealand would be taking on. If New Zealand ratified the protocol it would be bound by those decisions and would have to enforce them in its own exports of living GMOs. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Does he agree that if New Zealand does not ratify our trading partners may believe that we intend to export genetically modified organisms to them without notification or consent; if he does not agree with that how does he think that non-ratification would be interpreted by our trading partners? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: I do not believe that our trading partners would interpret non-ratification by New Zealand in that way unless they were to listen to New Zealand’s extreme anti-GM activists. However there are dangers for New Zealand in ratifying or in not ratifying and the Government will be considering those dangers carefully. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Does the Minister welcome this sign of Green support for multilateral agreements that bind New Zealand Governments and has he any hope of it being extended to for example trade agreements? 
Hon JIM SUTTON 
: Yes and no.