New Zealand's farmers, growers, and veterinarians need timely, trusted access to the agricultural and horticultural products that keep pests and disease in check. A Ministry for Regulation review, backed by Cabinet, set out 16 recommendations to deliver that, and Ministers have been clear they expect this reform to succeed. Animal and Plant Health NZ (APHANZ) back this expectation and welcomes the progress made to date.
The Primary Production Select Committee’s reports on the ACVM and HSNO Amendment Bills were released last week. APHANZ remains strongly supportive of Ministers' reform intent but says whether it delivers will now be decided in regulations still to be drafted, not in the Bills themselves.
APHANZ Chief Executive Dr Liz Shackleton says members' priorities are clear and remain unchanged from their submissions on both Bills: time limits that provide certainty to invest in New Zealand, and proportionate, risk-based assessment through trusted overseas regulators.
"We thank the committee for progressing the Bills. Some positives, some gaps, and one question still unanswered: will they deliver reform, or unbridled administrative discretion?
“The ACVM Amendment Bill takes some encouraging steps forward around fuller use of trusted overseas assessments. This is a sign the direction of travel is right, but the detail to deliver sits in regulations yet to be written.
"Visible time limits in the ACVM and HSNO Acts are still needed. Strong guardrails are critical to secure a proportionate, transparent, timely, and certain approval pathway. The scale of delegation of timeframes and powers from Parliament to regulations makes having these guardrails in place essential, because if the regulations don't hold the line it's Ministers, as much as industry, who stand to be let down.
“Ministers have set the ambition - the regulations will decide whether it's achieved, or quietly diluted. We don't want to see that commitment let down. Reform without the detail is a promise, not a guarantee, and industry is being asked to bank on the promise.
“Early exposure drafts will be essential to embed industry realities from the start. Industry heard plenty of reassurance in Select Committee. What matters now is whether reform intent survives contact with the regulations,” says Dr Shackleton.
Legislative reform is only one part of the journey. As set out in APHANZ's Blueprint for Change, operational levers that can be pulled now remain critical.
“APHANZ remains committed to continuing work with government to ensure the approval pathway for agricultural and horticultural products is fit-for-purpose and workable in practice," says Dr Shackleton.
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