December 17, 2024 Letter to NZ Members of Parliament - request Gene Technology Bill is put on hold pending a European Commission outcome.

PSGR request that MPs put the Gene Technology Bill is put on hold pending a European Commission outcome.

Dear Members of Parliament,

Please put the Gene Technology Bill on hold, pending a European Commission outcome.

Why?

Proposed European legislation has stalled' (see attached April 12, 2024 draft).
In Europe, deregulation exclusively concerns plants, while in New Zealand deregulation would encompass plants, animals, and microbes.
New Zealand would deregulate techniques of gene editing that have not been deregulated anywhere else. However, this 'point of difference' is not clearly disclosed.
The European Commission has drafted significant caveats, including transparency provisions and protections for non-GMO breeders into their proposed legislation.
MBIE claims that the Precautionary Principle approach is outdated. Precaution with newly created gene edited organisms is never outdated, due to new compounds being produced.
Note that in the European Commission legislation, the Precautionary Principle text is included. The Precautionary Principle must be inserted in any legislation claiming to steward GMOs which include gene editing techniques and gene edited organisms.
The current Bill must be thoroughly understood by MP's in light of proposed FSANZ changes in regulation - current proposals could result in 94% of gene edited foods avoiding premarket assessment (and traceability). Food safety of these GE foods in very unlikely to have been assessed.

In New Zealand it is claimed that the legislation will be 'evidence based' and 'risk proportionate', but it cannot be:

If these claims for 'evidence' and 'risk' are exclusively based on Australian legislation.
If the technical experts are a small group of people who may work for organisations that receive funding for biotechnology research and where their scope of feedback is restricted.
Neither Biosecurity nor the Ministry for the Environment have conducted an assessment or impact analysis on how the resulting legislation will impact them.
No economic analysis has been undertaken.
Assessment of global consumer willingness to pay a premium for GMO-free food has not been included.

Kind regards| Ngā mihi

For the Trustees of

Physicians and Scientists for Global Responsibility