Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to the Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007 and I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill I am introducing today strengthens the Australian government’s component of the nationally consistent, gene technology regulatory scheme. This scheme protects the health and safety of people and the environment from any risks that may be posed by genetically modified organisms. The bill will make amendments to the Gene Technology Act 2000 to ensure the regulatory burden is commensurate with risk, introduce provisions to deal with the unexpected situations and ensure the smooth operation of the scheme. These changes proposed will not make any significant changes to the strong scientific assessment framework of the act, which has been working well over the past six years. This bill is the response to the statutory review of the Gene Technology Act 2000 and the Gene Technology Agreement 2001 conducted in 2005-06.

I would like to thank the review panel, chaired by Ms Susan Timbs, and the secretariat for such a comprehensive review. The review panel concluded that the gene technology regulatory system was working well and recommended a number of changes intended to improve the operation of the regulatory scheme. The recommended changes are implemented by the bill. To ensure that regulatory burden is commensurate to risk, provisions in the bill will differentiate between limited and controlled release of genetically modified organisms and commercial releases. This split will allow different time frames and consultation requirements for the assessment of applications for these types of dealings to be set. This change will allow researchers to get on with the job of testing in the field genetically modified organisms that could result in agricultural and environmental benefits while ensuring that the health and safety of people and the environment is properly protected. Gene technology holds great potential for Australia and there may be circumstances where a genetically modified organism is uniquely capable of dealing with health or environmental emergency. This bill introduces emergency provisions that will more ably allow a genetically modified organism to be used in an emergency. However, we consider it appropriate that, even in an emergency, there be strong safeguards in place to ensure the genetically modified organism is used appropriately.

Another issue that this bill addresses is that where a person finds themselves dealing inadvertently with an unlicensed genetically modified organism, the gene technology regulator may issue a licence to allow that person to appropriately dispose of the organism. The gene technology framework provides for extensive consultation with experts on ethics, scientists, state and territory governments, other regulatory agencies and the wider community. This consultation would be enhanced as a result of the establishment of the Gene Technology Ethics and Community Consultation Committee that would be established by this bill.

The bill also proposes a number of procedural and technical changes that would improve the ongoing operation of the scheme. The act is a part of a wider intergovernmental scheme in which the states and territories have agreed to introduce corresponding legislation for the regulation of genetically modified organisms. The quality of this bill is shown by the strong support it has received from the states and territories and the approval of the bill by the Gene Technology Ministerial Council.

This is a great example of Australian governments working collectively to ensure that Australia has a world-class regulatory system that protects the health and safety of people and the environment as well as promoting research in this growing industry. This bill represents amendments preferred by states and territories and any amendments to the proposed bill may not be supported by states and territories. I commend this bill to the House.

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