New Zealand to shift GMO regulation to new body

Critics of the New Zealand Environmental Risk Management Authority’s (ERMA) handling of the regulation of genetically modified organisms have welcomed a government declaration that GMOs will come under the remit of the newly formed Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). “This change is a clear indication that the government knew ERMA was letting them down,” says Auckland Regional Council member Brent Morrissey. “Liability must be sorted and the EPA must step up the management of applications and the field tests it authorises,” Mr Morrissey adds. Prime Minister John Key told Parliament this month that legislation would be introduced later this year to extend the EPA’s mandate to hazardous substances and new organisms.