Turei Metiria: Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Turei Metiria: Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:646;Page:15207] 
METIRIA TUREI (Green) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Chairperson. I want to refer to two issues. The National member talked about the importation of horses which I will refer to and I will also refer briefly to the Department of Conservation and its involvement in the Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill. 
First of all I reiterate the Green Party’s concern which is evidenced in the papers prepared by the ministry in 2006 that the original intent of this legislation was to allow for the importation or the bringing into New Zealand of genetically modified organisms. It is very good to have heard the National Party refer to the issue of importing horses because the equine flu vaccination is a genetically modified vaccination. It is a living genetically modified virus and there is no permission to enable it to be introduced into our country. That would be the responsibility of the Environmental Risk Management Authority. If someone wanted to bring that vaccine into New Zealand that person would have to go through the Environmental Risk Management Authority process. If someone wanted to do that it would be the first living genetically modified organism released at large into New Zealand and our environment. 
That raises very serious concerns. The New Zealand public do not want to see these organisms released into our environment. It is quite right that the Environmental Risk Management Authority would be the organisation that would assess it. But under this bill if a horse were imported into the country and that horse had been vaccinated with this living genetically modified virus vaccine then it would be an unintentional importation of an organism and would come under the definition in this legislation. It would be perfectly legal for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to allow for the importation of that genetically modified known but incidental passenger organism into this country. 
Where would the risk assessment sit? Well it would sit with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and with the biosecurity agencies. What criteria do those organisations use to assess these kinds of organisms? Well they do not have a precautionary principle. They do not have the rigorous scientific process that the Environmental Risk Management Authority has which is set out in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act. They would be able to assess it according to their own criteria which are at a much lower level and are much more risk-happy assessment criteria. We could have the first living genetically modified organism at large in our country as a result of this legislation. 
One wonders what the National Party’s interest is in supporting this bill. It concerns me greatly. I wonder whether it is because National is quite interested in the racing industry. One might want to reflect back to 2005 when there was a very good relationship between the National Party and the racing industry at that time. Some of that relationship was exposed later after the election. So is this interest part of that relationship? Is that why the National Party is quite OK with legislation that will allow in law potentially for this organism to come into the country as a passenger organism? 
It is a very worrying issue and I think the New Zealand public have the right to have some concerns about it. I know the Minister is likely to stand up and say that the bill excludes genetically modified organisms. What he will not tell the public is that in 2006 the papers that were prepared around this issue specifically allowed for this legislation to include and allow for the importation of GMOs and that that was the policy position of this Labour Government in 2006. 
What has changed? Well it is election year—that has changed. We all know that New Zealanders will not accept the introduction of GMOs into our country because we know the risks that those organisms will have to our biodiversity to our threatened species and to our primary production sector which is as the Minister is so pleased to repeat such a major part of our economy. Yet the two old parties in this House are prepared to risk that major part of our economy. The Minister himself is prepared to do that for this legislation.