Carter David: Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Carter David: Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:646;Page:15201] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 There are two significant parts to Part 1 that I want to refer to. One is an explanation around the insertion of new section 22A “Process for independent review panel to be established”. First I want to pick up on a comment that the Minister made earlier. It became evident during the Primary Production Committee process that somewhat in excess of 400 import health standards have been developed after discussion with various stakeholders. They have largely been accepted and we have moved on. Two are of significance and they were presented to the select committee. They were an import health standard for honey and an import health standard for the importation of some pork products. It became clear from listening to the submitters on those two import health standards that there was a lack of clarity and transparency around the process whereby the import health standard was originally developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry then opened for consultation and consultation occurred. The ministry assured us that it took into account the submissions received from the various industries and finally a decision was made and a process developed by which an import health standard was established. 
In listening to those two particular industries it became clear to the select committee that we needed a process whereby there was independence in the review and that is what new section 22A in clause 5A has sought to establish and I think does so. It states that an import health standard is drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry then put out for consultation. The industry has a chance to feed that consultation back to the ministry which then moves to finalise an import health standard. At that stage any disgruntled industry sector has the ability to call for an independent review panel to be established. The review panel will be independent of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and it will have the difficult but important job of sorting out the correct balance between the scientific information presented and the information placed before the panel that lacks scientific rigour and is more for protection of a particular domestic industry. I think we have gone a long way with the establishment of that panel. I said in an earlier contribution for the benefit of the Green Party that I think it will find that most of the submitters who came before the committee will be well satisfied now that there is this new section 22A. 
The second part of my contribution relates to Supplementary Order Paper 194 in the name of the Minister the Hon Jim Anderton that changes clause 7A. There was an issue around the finalisation of the import health standard for honey. We attempted through the select committee process to make sure that the benefits of this independent review panel would be received even prior to its establishment so that the honey import health standard development would receive transparency examination and independence from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. I am aware that following the report back from the committee some in the industry still lack trust that this process would be followed through and would occur in the time that the select committee set which in effect is 90 days following the enactment of the legislation. 
I congratulate the Minister on a further amendment now appearing that makes it absolutely categorically clear that no honey will come into this country until the import health standard has had the independent review panel process. I certainly hope that that will satisfy the valid worries and concerns presented to us by the bee-keeping industry. In defence of their concerns I do understand that as an industry they are suffering greatly as a result of the incursion of the varroa bee mite. It has cost many bee-keepers tens of thousands of dollars and they are rightfully scared of any other disease that may arrive in this country. At the end of the day the particular import health standard and the process by which the new organism  
Paenibacillus alvei 
 may or may not affect the viability of the industry is something that must be sorted out on a basis of science and not on the basis of emotion.