Choudhary Ashraf: Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Choudhary Ashraf: Biosecurity and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Legislation Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:645;Page:14331] 
Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (Labour) 
: 
 I rise to briefly speak on this bill which has been put together by the Minister. I think it is very important that this matter be clarified because clearly there is an issue in this case with the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act and the Biosecurity Act. The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act clearly relates to the deliberate introduction of new organisms and the Biosecurity Act relates to the incidental release of any new organisms in the country. 
This bill is to go to the Primary Production Committee and after listening to Mr Carter I have to say that that committee has worked very well during this term. It has worked very constructively and cooperatively on many of these issues. I am sure we will endeavour to come to some conclusion on this bill by the date of 17 March which the Minister has suggested. But clearly we will have to hear from the key players in the industry and I think it is important and fair that we do hear from those in the industry who have something to say about this bill. 
This legislation will be very important as this country becomes more global in its trade and people travel widely and it will be particularly important in relation to climate change. As a scientist myself I see that the international climate change situation could bring a whole lot of new issues to the forefront in this nation as we deal with new organisms and also possibly with any incidental release or introduction into this country of new organisms. We have to respond to any emergencies or difficulties that may come our way. Clearly this country has been dependent for a long long time on the release of new organisms particularly in the area of pasture over the years. As a scientist I know that we have dealt with many new species of grass clover and other plants—flora—for our animals in this country. There is always a need to look at new organisms that are more suitable for extra pasture production and animal production. 
So clearly biosecurity is a very important issue for this country. New Zealand is more reliant on primary production than any other developed country that I am aware of because our exports come primarily from agriculture horticulture and of course forestry in recent times. Our indigenous flora and fauna are very precious to New Zealanders and tourists alike. A number of tourists come to this country to see the variety of flora and fauna and native species that we have and they are core areas of our natural heritage and culture in this country. 
The biosecurity strategy that we have had in place since 2003 has widened the mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in biosecurity to give it clear accountability for the management of the whole biosecurity system. That covers not only primary production but also the marine environment human health and indigenous flora and fauna. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has the capability to assess and manage the risks from passenger organisms. The ministry also has lengthy experience in this role as I said earlier as we have been dealing with these issues for many many years. The ministry employs a lot of staff who are highly qualified in various fields and in the biological sciences to look into these issues. It is also worth noting that the legal challenge—in this case the court case—did not call into question the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s risk management decision but rather focused on interpreting the scope of the two Acts that are in place: the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act and the Biosecurity Act. 
Clearly this bill is designed to clarify a number of those areas. This Government has a record of providing leadership and a vision for the future in terms of our agriculture and biosecurity particularly in respect of the environment. The Acts we have in place now ensure that the environment of this country is protected that the marine forestry and pasture areas are maintained and that the water bodies and lakes of this country will be in a more pristine condition. There is a very clear role here for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry people and the Environmental Risk Management Authority people to ensure that no organisms are introduced into this country by incidental means and the Biosecurity Act and the clarification of the legislation contained in this bill provides for that. 
I congratulate the Minister on taking an initiative on a matter that is very important for our bee industry particularly through this bill which provides further security for our nation. Thank you very much.