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NZMS is a constituent member of the Royal Society of New Zealand - This page contains information (provided by RSNZ and generally unedited except for format) detailing their activities, particularly those that may effect either members of NZMS or the Society itself.

 

NEW! 04. October, 2011  |  Consultation - Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act

The Royal Society of New Zealand would like your views on the operation of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (http://www.mfe.govt.nz/laws/hsno.html ) in terms of its impact on research involving new organisms (including, but not limited to, GMOs).

Background
New Zealand’s Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act was introduced in 1996 to assess and decide on applications to introduce hazardous substances or new organisms into New Zealand. This includes genetic modification of plants, animals and other living things in New Zealand. Over the following years there have been a number of Government consultations and a Royal Commission, which have amended the legislation, and to which the Royal Society contributed to in 2002 (for further details please see:

http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/publications/policy/2002/response-to-hsno-act/

During these reviews the research community expressed concern over the impact of the legislation on contained laboratory research which was sought to be addressed in the New Organisms and Other Matters Bill in 2003. This simplified the assessment process for low-risk genetic modifications to improve efficiency and reduce compliance costs. Whether or not an organism was considered low-risk depended on the type of organism, the sorts of modifications being made to it, and the level of containment. Under the amended law, research institutions conducting low-risk GM research in the confines of the laboratory were able to make applications for approval on a project basis as opposed to making a separate application for each organism produced during a particular piece of research. Other changes allow the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) to delegate decisions on the importation of low-risk genetically modified organisms to Institutional Biological Safety Committees (IBSCs).

In 2005 the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Risk Species (strains of Microctonus aethiopoides) regulations came into effect, which identified all strains of the parasitic wasp Microctonus aethiopoides, other than the Moroccan strain, as a risk species and were now new organisms for the purposes of the Act. Then in 2008 there was a subsequent Government consultation and legislation amendment around information regulations for GM conditional release applications. In 2009, the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Organisms Prescribed as Not New Organisms) Regulations recognised the pest fungal organism Puccinia myrsiphylli  as no longer new for the purposes of the HSNO Act 1996, and therefore not requiring an approval from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for importing, developing, field testing or releasing that organism. In 2011 six further pest species were added to this list as no longer new:  Bactericera cockerelli,  Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum, Orchamoplatus citri, Varroa destructor,  Nasonovia ribisnigri, Frankliniella intonsa.

Consultation focus
The Society would welcome views on members’ and Fellows’ experiences with the Act in their research, in terms of the cost of compliance and any impact on innovation for both laboratory-contained and field research, and their experience of the balance of risk versus the level of regulation involved compared with international best practice. Submissions to the consultation should be sent to Dr Marc Rands (marc.rands@royalsociety.org.nz) by 2 December 2011.

 

19. September, 2011  |  September Constituent Members Update

1. Forum – Agricultural & Horticultural Science & Innovation – their role in the future of New Zealand – 4th October, Wellington
The New Zealand Institute of Agricultural & Horticultural Science (NZIAHS) is holding a forum entitled The Role of Agricultural & Horticultural Science and Innovation in the Future of New Zealand at Te Papa, Wellington, on Tuesday 4th October from 12:30 – 6 pm. A great lineup of speakers includes the President of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Garth Carnaby, presenting an Outlook for New Zealand. A political forum tops off the afternoon. For all enquiries and registrations ($50 full, $35 student/unwaged), contact Jenny Taylor, Secretariat NZIAHS, by email secretariat@agscience.org.nz.

2. Marie Curie Lecture Series – Napier, Christchurch, Auckland
There are three lectures to come in this year-long Marie Curie Lecture Series being run by the Royal Society of New Zealand to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry.

• Napier - “From the Bottom Up” by Professor Alison Downard, 7.30pm, Wed 26 October, Exhibition Hall, Napier War Memorial Conference Centre, 48 Marine Parade, Napier.
  
  
• Christchurch - “The Light Fantastic” by Dr Cather Simpson, 7.30pm, Tues 8 November, Room 108, Law Building, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
  
  
• Auckland - “The Wonderful World of Enzymes - insights into drug design, catalysis and molecular evolution”, by Associate Professor Emily Parker, Wed 9 Nov, 6.30pm, The Auditorium, Auckland Museum, The Domain, Parnell, Auckland.

Find full details on the Marie Curie Lecture Series on our website, here.

3. Latest lectures now online
Professor Norman Hammond’s Aronui Lecture The Mysterious Maya and Professor Warren Tate’s Rutherford Lecture How to Make Life from the Primordial Soup have been uploaded to our Vimeo account. They can also be seen in the Viewing Room.

4. Book offers for individual members of the Royal Society of New Zealand – a reminder
Conservation Week seems the perfect time to send a reminder that we’ve been able to offer some great deals to our individual members lately – including a special discounted offer on pre-release orders of New Zealand’s Native Trees, the newest collaboration from botanist John Dawson and photographer Rob Lucas, published by Craig Potton Publishing. You can hear John Dawson talking to Kathryn Ryan (13 Sep) on Radio New Zealand about the book here. We’ve also recently offered discount prices on a great range of science titles from Awa Press, and we’re currently finalising another exciting offer to send out to members in plenty of time for Christmas orders. These and other benefits are available only to our individual members. Our website has details on membership of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

5. Follow us for updates – not just for members
You don’t have to be a member to get timely updates from the Royal Society of New Zealand team via our Facebook and Twitter channels. You can also subscribe to our weekly Alert newsletter by going to our Lists – http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/subscribe/  –  or catch up with the latest Alert (and archived copies) on the web:
http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/category/alert-newsletter/

 

 

 

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