Submission on AgHort products regulatory review

^{Tractor spraying pesticide. Ross Gordon Henry, iStock.}

The Commissioner has made a submission to the Ministry for Regulation on its agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review in which he highlights relevant findings and recommendations from his 2022 report Knowing what’s out there: Regulating the environmental fate of chemicals.

He suggests that Ministry officials read the report in its entirety and consider the following key points:

• New Zealand’s unique environmental context means that using international information to make assessments must be done with care,
• a cohesive framework is needed to understand and prioritise chemicals’ risks,
• more information is needed to appropriately manage the risk of chemicals used in our environment – particularly where chemical use is occurring,
• many chemicals currently in use have not been properly assessed meaning that current environmental controls are not always appropriate,
• EPA does not have the tools or resources to adequately manage the risks of chemicals used in New Zealand,
• the current fee structure needs review so that those who gain the greatest benefits from the chemical assessment programme – the chemicals industry and agricultural and horticultural producers – pay the majority of the cost.

The submission also asks the Ministry to ensure it gives equal weight to stakeholders representing environmental and public health interests, as it does to industry and recommends that it consider a more integrated and diverse range of regulatory approaches to risk in its review.