Policy Statement on Unwanted Organisms
1 Purpose
1.1 The purpose of this document is to set out the Biosecurity Council’s policy on unwanted organisms for the purposes of the Biosecurity Act 1993. It aims:
- to clarify the responsibilities of chief technical officers (CTOs) with regard to the determination of organisms as unwanted organisms;
- to clarify the responsibilities of the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) with regard to recording such determinations;
- to clarify the responsibilities of the chief executive of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand) in supplying information to MAF on unwanted organisms;
- to clarify the responsibilities of principal officers of regional councils when requesting that an organism is determined to be an unwanted organism;
- to ensure that CTOs use consistent processes when determining organisms to be unwanted and recording such determinations;
- to facilitate the formation by departments of consistent policy statements on unwanted organisms.
2 Introduction
2.1 This policy does not replace or remove the need for a CTO, when determining an organism to be an unwanted organism, to meet the criteria set out in the Biosecurity Act. In section 2(1) of that act ‘unwanted organism’ means:
any organism that a chief technical officer believes is capable or potentially capable of causing unwanted harm to any natural and physical resources or human health; and
- includes -
- any new organism, if the Authority [ERMA New Zealand] has declined approval to import that organism; and
- any organism specified in the Second Schedule of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996; but
- does not include any organism approved for importation under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, unless -
- the organism is an organism which has escaped from a containment facility; or
- a chief technical officer, after consulting the Authority and taking into account any comments made by the Authority concerning the organism, believes that the organism is capable or potentially capable of causing unwanted harm to any natural and physical resources or human health.
2.2 The terms in this policy have the same meaning as those in the Biosecurity Act 1993 unless the context indicates otherwise. The term ‘regulated pest’ is defined under the International Plant Protection Convention.
2.3 This policy will be reviewed in light of any amendment to the Biosecurity Act or at such other time as the chair of the Biosecurity Council considers necessary.
3 Context
3.1 Each department with responsibilities for biosecurity (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Fisheries, and Ministry of Health) will develop and maintain its own policy statement setting out the criteria by which its CTO determines (or CTOs determine) an organism to be an unwanted organism. Current policy statements are listed in appendix 1.
3.2 Certain powers under the Biosecurity Act cannot be used in respect of an organism unless that organism has first been determined to be unwanted.
3.3 There is no obligation on any agency to take action against an unwanted organism simply because it has that status, except that inspectors under the Biosecurity Act, before giving biosecurity clearance to any goods or organisms, must be satisfied that the goods or organisms show no signs of harbouring unwanted organisms.
3.4 Under the Biosecurity Act an unwanted organism has that status throughout New Zealand. An organism cannot be an unwanted organism only within a region or other locality.
3.5 Organisms which are established in New Zealand should not be determined to be unwanted organisms unless they are subject to statutory controls (e.g. are not subject only to industry quality assurance programmes), or where an area of low prevalence can be demonstrated.
Section 27 of the Biosecurity Act prevents biosecurity clearance from being given to goods (including organisms) showing signs of harbouring unwanted organisms. Such a restriction would constitute a trade barrier if the same unwanted organism was present in New Zealand and not under statutory control (or if an area of low prevalence could not be demonstrated). This restriction applies to unwanted organisms, not ‘pests’ in terms of the Biosecurity Act. The ‘national treatment’ principle of the SPS agreement (article 2.3) provides that sanitary or phytosanitary measures applied to imports should not be any more stringent than those measures applied domestically to the same species or commodity.
3.6 Given that the Biosecurity Act does not define the term notifiable organism, under this policy all notifiable organisms will be unwanted organisms, and will be limited to those organisms which cause serious harm to natural and physical resources or human health.
3.7 For the purposes of this policy, organisms that have, prior to this policy coming into effect, been determined by a CTO to be unwanted organisms will remain unwanted organisms. Under this policy CTOs will not be required to review the status of any organisms already determined to be unwanted.
4 Responsibilities of Chief Technical Officers
4.1 The CTO whose responsibilities are most affected, or potentially most affected, by the impact of an organism should determine whether that organism is an unwanted organism. Where the responsibilities of more than one CTO are affected, or potentially affected, by the impact of an organism, the CTO making a determination on its status as an unwanted organism shall first consult with the other affected CTOs. Any disagreement on such determinations should be discussed by the Biosecurity Council.
4.2 Listing a species of regulated pest in an import health standard demonstrates that a CTO has formed a belief that the species meets the criteria for being an unwanted organism. Consultation on import health standards constitutes consultation on the status of such species as unwanted organisms.
4.3 Each CTO must inform the Director-General of MAF as soon as is practicable, after any organism is either determined to be an unwanted organism or determined to no longer be an unwanted organism. The CTO will supply the information to the Director-General according to guidelines prepared by MAF. If the determination of the CTO follows a request by the principal officer of a regional council, the CTO must advise MAF accordingly.
5 Responsibilities of Regional Councils
5.1 Under the Biosecurity Act a regional council cannot carry out a small-scale management programme in respect of an organism unless that organism has first been determined to be unwanted by a CTO.
5.2 Any request from the principal officer of a regional council to have an organism determined to be an unwanted organism should be directed to the Director-General of MAF.
5.3 The principal officer shall supply any information in respect of a request as required by the Director-General of MAF.
6 Responsibilities of ERMA New Zealand
6.1 The chief executive of ERMA New Zealand (the Environmental Risk Management Authority) shall inform the Director-General of MAF when: • it has declined approval to import an organism, or; • it becomes aware that an organism has escaped from a containment facility approved under s 39 of the Biosecurity Act.
7 Responsibilities of Director-General of MAF
7.1 The Biosecurity Act (section 164C) requires the Director-General of MAF to keep a register of all organisms notified to him/her by CTOs as unwanted organisms.
7.2 MAF will prepare guidelines on the nature and format of information to be supplied by CTOs for the register of unwanted organisms. MAF will also prepare guidelines on the maintenance of the register, including the timeliness of updating information.
7.3 The Director-General of MAF shall refer requests from the principal officer of a regional council for an organism to be determined to be unwanted, to the CTO or CTOs whose responsibilities are most affected, or potentially most affected, by the impact of the organism.
8 Communication
8.1 The register of unwanted organisms will be available for public inspection at MAF’s head office during normal working hours, and also on MAF’s world wide web site.
8.2 This policy will be communicated according to the Biosecurity Council’s communication strategy.
8.3 This policy (including any updates) will be distributed to all members of the Biosecurity Council and principal officers of all regional councils.
John Hellström
Chair, Biosecurity Council
10 September 1998
Page last updated: 12 June 2008