The New Organisms And Other Matters Bill

Purpose

"Biotechnology, as with any new technology, raises ethical, cultural and social issues. The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act does not fully reflect these concerns as it stands at the moment."
(Page 15 of the Explanatory Notes in the Act).

Given this statement the Bioethics Council needed to consider whether or not the suggested amendments to the HSNO Act outlined in this bill are adequate to 'fully reflect these concerns'. There are specific issues in the bill to which the Council would like to make a contribution, including in regard to underlying ethical principles that need to be taken into account. The Council saw this as an opportunity to make a statement about where it fits into the decision-making system, for example in relation to the Ministerial call-in provisions.

Activity

The working group prepared a submission on the New Organisms and Other Matters Bill which was forwarded to the Education and Science Select Committee -

• Submission to the Education and Science Select Committee on New Organisms and Other Matters Bill

Working Group

Members of the working group were:

• Anne Dickinson
• Jill White
• Ian Shirley
• Graham Robertson