New Zealand Debates Regional Control over GE-Free Zones

The New Zealand Herald
May 6, 2004

Councils seek to control GE releases

North Island councils are seeking a say in the extent to which land should
be used for genetically engineered crops and animals.

Whangarei District Council today called for changes to the Hazardous
Substances and New Organisms Act that would give councils have more say on
the release of GE organisms in their areas.

And the Bay of Plenty regional council says it wants to know what powers it
has to control the release of GE in its own region.

The council fears government legislation does not provide adequate
safeguards and that regional government might be left without a say.

In March, Whangarei council, in association with Far North, Kaipara, and
Rodney district Councils and Local Government New Zealand, received a legal
opinion from a leading QC, Royden Somerville, for territorial councils and
the Environment Court to block the farming of GE crops or animals, or
declare specific areas as zones for GE farming.

This view was disputed by Environment Minister Marian Hobbs, who said
councils would find it difficult to identify issues that would not be
adequately and most appropriately addressed by the HSNO Act and Erma.

Today, Whangarei District Council sought support for changes to to New
Zealand's law governing the release of genetically engineered crops and
livestock.

Under the Act as it now stands the Environmental Risk Management Authority
(Erma) must notify councils of applications for activities involving GE
organisms.

But councils' submissions on such applications are not given any greater
weight than individuals' submissions.

The Whangarei council wants that rule changed and will ask Local Government
New Zealand to lobby for the Act to be revised.

And Bay of Plenty's regional council -- one of 14 authorities separate to
the "territorial councils" which control land use in cities and districts --
wants to know what powers it has to control the release of genetically
engineered organisms in the region.

It fears government legislation does not provide adequate safeguards and
that regional government might be left without a say.

Resource planner James Low said that the regional council was adopting the
"precautionary principle" it already followed under the Resource Management
Act: that governments should err on the

side of caution if they have doubts about the health and environmental
safety of an action.

Mr Low said the Bay of Plenty council was concerned only with the release of
GE organisms, including field trials.

Councillor Lorraine Brill, chairman of the BOP council's strategic policy
committee, said there were a lot of issues unresolved, including the
liability risk and the role of local government in fixing any problems that
arose.

The Bay Of Plenty council is asking other regional councils to help fund the
legal opinion.

And in Whangarei, district councillor Robin Lieffering was today seeking
seek support for a law change from the 11 "Zone 1" councils stretching from
Papakura to the Far North.

Mrs Lieffering said a law change was needed to get councils "into the
playing field" of GE organisms.

The council had prepared a draft remit, which if it gains Zone 1 support,
will be presented to the annual Local Government New Zealand meeting in
July.

A discussion document with the remit said that because of the risks involved
in a GE release, "local authorities may wish to consider whether the
expected protections to be afforded by the national regulator, Erma, will be
sufficient to meet the requirements of their communities at a regional or
local level."

The HSNO Act should be changed to enable councils "to have direct input"
into decisions over GE land uses that may take place in their region or
district.

The draft remit also suggests that Erma should accommodate councils'
policies on GE when making their decisions. Another possible change would
give councils the opportunity, but not the obligation, to examine individual
applications "in tandem" with Erma.

The existing law is unsatisfactory to local government because of the
potential adverse effects regionally and locally resulting from land used
for GE crops and animals, and because of the strong community opposition for
GE land uses in some regions, the remit said.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA), NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)

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Genetic Engineering

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