August 18, 2003

from Life Sciences Network

Further liaison with Australia to promote quality decision making regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been agreed upon by New Zealand officials, after meeting with Australia’s Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR).

In issuing the authority’s quarterly report for the period 1 January to 31 March 2003, the Gene Technology Regulator Dr Sue Meek signaled high level talks with New Zealand’s Minister for Research, Science and Technology, the Hon Pete Hodgson, Environment Minister the Hon Marian Hobbs and the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) had included discussions about the regulatory environment for GMOs in both jurisdictions.

Other key achievements for the OGTR during the quarter include its monitoring and compliance section exceeding targets for the monitoring of current and post-harvest field trial sites.

The PDF version of the report is at http://www.ogtr.gov.au/pdf/public/mar2003qrpt.pdf