May 3, 2001
The Environmental Risk Management Authority has been advised of the outcome of the High Court appeal on an application for GM cattle.
The appeal has been upheld and the Authority is required to reconsider the application.
ERMA New Zealand Chief Executive, Dr Bas Walker, has this morning issued a brief comment on the decision.
"The High Court has made a very comprehensive decision on the issues put before it and its overall conclusion is clear. The Authority will carry out the instructions of the Court and will move as quickly as it can to have the application reconsidered.
The decision contains a wealth of information on the interpretation of the HSNO Act and on the role of the Methodology - a formal set of guidelines set down in law that the Authority has to follow in its decision-making. We will need to fully consider the text of decision before the actual details of the next steps in the process can be confirmed. We will aim to do this in the next week and we will make a further brief statement at that time.
The HSNO Act, passed in 1996, was an innovative piece of legislation. It was always to be expected that at some point there would be an appeal on a decision made under the Act. The Authority takes a positive view of this. Court judgements are an important part of the development and maturing of any piece of legislation.
The decision is a very long and comprehensive document. The Court has now provided valuable guidance on the interpretation of the Act and use of the Methodology, which will also apply to future applications for GMOs. It will take the Authority some time to work through the 100 pages of the decision and to form its views on how decision-making should be handled in the future."
The appeal was the first taken on a decision of the Authority, which took on responsibility for regulating the use of GMOs in New Zealand in July 1998.
It related to an approval given to Ag Research in July 2000 to genetically modify dairy cattle. The proposed modifications included the insertion of synthetic human genes into the cow genome, with the aim of producing a protein in the milk. The researchers' aim was to see if enough of the protein could be generated to produce a biopharmaceutical to treat multiple sclerosis.
Two other parts of the Ag Research application, altering the composition of milk, were approved earlier in 2000. These aspects were not subject to the appeal and the approval for those modifications therefore still stands.
For further information:
| Dr Bas Walker Chief Executive ERMA New Zealand Ph +64 4 473 8426 |
Karen Cronin Communications Manager ERMA New Zealand Ph +64 4 918 4826 |
For more information on the cattle applicaton go to our focus page.