Gene Technology (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (22:34): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

In 2011 the Commonwealth Gene Technology Act 2000 was reviewed, and 16 recommendations were presented to Ministers of the Gene Technology Forum. Of these recommendations, 14 were supported or supported in principle and fall within three main categories: Modifications to the operations of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator; minor technical, administrative and consequential amendments; and other technical amendments.

In August, 2015 the Commonwealth Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2015 was passed without amendment by the House of Representatives and the Senate and came into force on 10 March, 2016.

This Commonwealth Bill encompassed five minor technical, administrative and consequential amendments that have no or minimal impact on the technical operation of the Act.

South Australia is a signatory to the National Gene Technology Agreement. The agreement is an inter-governmental agreement which sets out the understanding between Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to establish a nationally consistent regulatory scheme. This agreement ultimately aims to ensure national fulfilment of the principles of the gene technology legislation; that is, to protect the health and safety of people and to protect the environment. This is achieved by identifying risks posed by, or as a result of, gene technology and by managing those risks through regulation of certain dealings, which include the manipulation, storage, transfer or disposal, of genetically modified organisms.

The Bill before the House will bring the South Australia Gene Technology Act 2001 into alignment with the Commonwealth legislation. These changes will have minimal impact on the operation of gene technology activities within South Australia.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal. There being no commencement clause, the measure will commence operation on the day on which it is assented to by the Governor.

Part 2—Amendment of Gene Technology Act 2001

3—Amendment of section 10—Definitions

This proposed amendment to the definition of Record is consequential on the decision to remove information about genetically modified (GM) products authorised by other agencies from the Record of GMO and GM Product Dealings maintained by the Gene Technology Regulator (the Regulator).

4—Amendment of section 30—Independence of the Regulator

This is a technical amendment that does not alter the substance of the provision but simply clarifies the ambiguous wording of a phrase in section 30(a) of the principal Act.

5—Amendment of section 46A—Division does not apply to an application relating to inadvertent dealings

6—Amendment of section 49—Division does not apply to an application relating to inadvertent dealings

The inadvertent dealings provisions of the principal Act allow the Regulator to promptly authorise the disposal of a GMO which has inadvertently come into someone's possession. The amendments proposed in clauses 5 and 6 would remove doubt as to the dealings which may be authorised for purposes relating to disposing of a GMO.

7—Amendment of section 52—Public notification of risk assessment and risk management plan

The Regulator is required to consult the public on risk assessment and risk management plans prepared for DIR licence application assessments. The first proposed amendment to section 52 would allow the Regulator to decide the most appropriate newspaper(s) given the geographic area in which the dealings proposed to be authorised by the licence may occur in which the consultation notice must be published. The second proposed amendment would omit '(if any)' from section 52(1)(c) to clarify that the Regulator does have a website on which notices must be published.

8—Amendment of section 71—Variation of licence

This proposed amendment would modify 1 of the restrictions to broaden the information which may be taken into account by the Regulator when assessing variation applications from licence holders.

9—Amendment of section 74—Notifiable low risk dealings

This is a technical amendment.

10—Amendment of section 117—Simplified outline

This proposed amendment is consequential on the decision to remove information about GM products authorised by other agencies from the Record.

11—Amendment of section 136—Annual report

This proposed amendment would amend section 136 (Annual Report) to require that the information previously included in quarterly reports be included in annual reports. Public accountability and transparency of the regulatory system is maintained by public reporting on GMO licences issued, breaches of GMO licence conditions, emergency dealing determinations made, breaches of conditions of emergency dealing determinations, and auditing and monitoring of dealings with GMOs by the Regulator.

12—Repeal of section 136A

This proposed amendment would repeal requirements that the Regulator prepare quarterly reports and provide them to the responsible Minister, and that the Minister table the reports in the Parliament, and is related to the amendment proposed to section 136.

13—Amendment of heading to Part 9 Division 6

This proposed amendment is consequential.

Schedule 1—Transitional provisions

The Schedule contains the transitional provisions that relate to the amendments proposed by this measure.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.