Food Act 2014
2014 May
It’s done and
dastardly dusted…
“…most opposition simply ignored under the smokescreen of the Budget…”
… some information… that MPI would like to share with you…
Requires member’s access
Previously-
As passed at the NZTCA 2013 AGM, a sub-committee is being formed to check that the proposed Food Bill suits the needs of our members. Vicky Mee of the Franklin Branch has offered to co-ordinate this and has put together a plan which has been endorsed by the Management Committee. This now has urgency as this bill has been rushed up the order list.
The Food Bill scooted up the order at parliament and after its second reading went straight to the select committee without debate. It’s possible that it will open for submissions very soon or if it doesn’t then now is the time to write lobbying letters to all the members of the select committee.
The bill is now the Food Bill 2010 (2010 No. 160-2) and summary of the changes from the original bill are was in this digest: Food Bill – summary of changes
We want to assemble a sub-committee of interested members from as many branches as possible.
We did! February 2014 – See:
NZTCA Written and Oral Submissions here…
Previously, for the record:
If you know about the Food Bill, have already been following the debate, will be affected by it or just wants to get involved, please contact Vicky or Murray Redpath as soon as possible.
Vicky’s email with important links is copied below.
Best wishes, Murray Redpath, National President
HI Murray,
As discussed last weekend it would be a good idea to form a taskforce that would be ready to prepare a response from TCA once the Food Bill moves to its second reading and a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) is released. This follows from the remit passed at conference “that Franklin Branch ask that NZTCA review the final version of the new Food Act and put forward a submission to Government it the Act’s proposal’s are detrimental to the interests of NZTCA members”.
It would be great to have a number of members from different parts of the country and different perspectives (farmer’s market stall holder, roadside stall seller, biodiversity, seed sharing etc) all looking critically at the proposed legislation. You may want to send this email through to the branches and I’d welcome hearing from anyone who would like to be involved.
Where the Food Bill was at August 2013:
The current food bill is over thirty years old and the plan was to make sweeping changes to bring food safety into line with our trading partners. The first reading of the new bill was in July 2010 and there was submissions to the Primary Production select committee in 2010 with a select committee report coming out in December 2010. It raised many concerns and in May 2012 there was a petition which over 42,000 New Zealanders signed against the proposed legislation. Concerns were raised on its effects on food co-operatives, heritage seed banks, farmer’s markets, GM foods, providing food for WWOOFERs, bake stalls and roadside fruit and vegetable stalls as well as reduced biodiversity and increased compliance costs for all food producers. The Food Bill as at the first reading was setting food handling standards for all NZ situations at export levels.
The Food Bill, Bill no. 160-2, was sitting at number 59 of 59 bills on the parliamentary order paper (from final order paper for 13.6.13) so it wasn’t coming before the house in any great hurry. However statements from Food Safety Minister, Nikki Kaye (it was previously Kate Wilkinson) are bringing the bill back into public attention.
Nikki Kaye made statements last week about changes to the bill and this was reported in the NZ Herald on June 12th 2013
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890019
and from Soil and Health – Organic NZ today
www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1306/S00214/proposed-changes-to-food-bill-welcomed.htm
The Bill went back to a Select Committee hearing with changes expected to be effective by summer of 2013. It was expected that there would be further public consultation by the Select Committee.
Information on the bill available at:
www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2010/0160/latest/DLM2995811.html
www.foodbill.org.nz – gone?
www.nzfoodsecurity.org – more cynical than webber?
www.nikkikaye.co.nz/2013/06/12/food-bill-changes-better-balance-legislation/ – propaganda?
If you come across some helpful evaluations please send us the link; ‘Get-in-touch’ under ‘Branches’
