Power Simon: New Organisms and Other Matters Bill — In Committee 
Power Simon: New Organisms and Other Matters Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:612;Page:9068] 
SIMON POWER (NZ National—Rangitikei) 
: 
 In dealing with Part 3 of this bill members will see that it refers particularly to the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act—legislation that no doubt many members will be very familiar with. They will probably not have to refer to the principal Act at all while making their submissions during this part of the debate. 
 When this bill first came before the House we learnt very early on that essentially it would disappear and be phased into the three Acts of Parliament that are covered in the remaining three parts to this bill—namely the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act the Medicines Act and the Biosecurity Act. I know my colleague Shane Ardern will be very keen to make a contribution on the Biosecurity Act. 
When one looks at Part 3 in particular it is tempting to just pass over amendments that appear at the end of a new bill like this but I decided to have a quiet look at the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act and see exactly what those amendments do. I do not recall going into this level of detail during the select committee process— 
Hon David Carter 
: Perhaps they should have done. 
SIMON POWER 
: To be fair my colleague is probably right. I say to the chairman of the select committee the Hon Brian Donnelly that I do not think we spent much time looking at the amendments to those Acts . 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: We did give you the opportunity. 
SIMON POWER 
: That is probably true enough. 
Clause 52 of the New Organisms and Other Matters Bill “Director-General to withhold information” looks vague and innocuous at first glance but it is worth having a bit of a look at it. Subclause (1) states: “Section 12(2) of the principal Act is amended by omitting the words ‘immediately notify’ and substituting the words ‘make all reasonable efforts to contact and notify immediately’.’’ 
Hon David Carter 
: It’s a cover-up! 
SIMON POWER 
: It is. He says it mockingly but there are some real concerns about the way these words have been factored in. Let us go to section 12 of the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act—that is the section dealing with the director-general’s right to withhold information pursuant to an Official Information Act request. Section 12(2) states that where the director-general receives a request to release any information under the Official Information Act the information to which the request relates may be able to be withheld if that information has been classified as commercially sensitive. I see the Minister frowning but from my reading that is the general gist of subsection (2)—the information can be withheld if it is commercially sensitive and that seems to make sense. 
But at the point the application reaches the director-general under the current regime the director-general must immediately notify the person who gave him or her the information—in other words the holder of the commercially sensitive information—that a request to release the information has been received. Under the current Act the bar is set quite high in the sense that the person the commercial entity or the applicant must be immediately notified. There is nothing about reasonable steps or constructive notice—none of that stuff; they must be notified immediately. 
In clause 52(1) the words “immediately notify” have been omitted and the words “make all reasonable efforts to contact and notify immediately” substituted. That is quite different from “immediately notify”. It is a kind of wishy-washy version. Does one sort of pick up the phone dial the number and if one cannot get through think: “Well I’ve made all reasonable efforts to make contact.”? Or maybe one presses the wrong fax number on the machine and thinks: “Well I’ve made all reasonable efforts to make contact.” Maybe if one just drives past the business premises that is enough.