Public forums to encourage community comment on gene technology regulation

The Commonwealth Interim Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (IOGTR) will hold public forums to seek community views on how Australia should regulate gene technology.

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Monday 31 January 2000
Attention: Community diary and calendar editors

Public forums to encourage community comment on gene technology regulation

The Commonwealth Interim Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (IOGTR) will hold public forums in each state and territory capital and in three regional centres during February and March (details below) to seek community views on how Australia should regulate gene technology.

Comments from the community will help to shape the Draft Gene Technology Bill 2000, scheduled for introduction into Federal Parliament in April this year.

The aim of the legislation is to provide a comprehensive framework to protect the health and safety of Australians and our environment during the research and development of new Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

It will cover the regulatory processes for their release into the environment and safe use in manufacturing processes. The Draft Gene Technology Bill 2000 complements existing regulatory Acts, including the Australia New Zealand Food Authority Act 1991 and the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.

The draft Bill incorporates input received in consultations and submissions to date, including public comment from consultations undertaken nationally following the release last October of the discussion paper, Proposed national regulatory system for genetically modified organisms: How should it work?.

The December release of the Draft Gene Technology Bill 2000 was advertised in newspapers nationally. These notices also called for public submissions on the draft bill by 10 March 2000.

The public forums are another component of the IOGTR public consultation process.

Schedule of Public forums

Canberra - Thursday 17 February 8.30am - 12.30pm Haydon Allen Tank, The Australian National University
Darwin - Friday 18 February 8.30am - 12.30pm Level Three Conference room, Carlton Hotel
Albury-Wodonga - Monday 21 February 10.00am - 1.00pm Blazing Stump Hotel, Tallangatta Road, Wodonga
Melbourne - Tuesday 22 February 9.00am - 1.00pm Auditorium, Level 5, RMIT, 342-348 Swanston St
Hobart - Wednesday 23 February 10.00am - 2.00pm Churchill Room, Salamanca Inn, 10 Gladstone Street
Perth - Thursday 24 February 12.00 noon - 4.00pm Central Park Theatrette (Hay Street Entrance) Ground Floor, Central Park Building, 152 - 156 St George's Terrace
Adelaide - Friday 25 February 8.30am - 12.30pm Theatrette, Ground Floor, Commonwealth Centre, 55 Currie Street
Tamworth - Monday 28 February 9.30am - 12.30pm Country Comfort Inn, 293 Marius Street
Brisbane - Tuesday 29 February 8.30am - 12.30pm Lawson 1 Room, Novotel Brisbane
Rockhampton - Wednesday 1 March 8.30am - 11.30am Parklane function room, Country Comfort Rockhampton
Sydney - Thursday 2 March 9.00am -1.00pm Masonic Centre, 279 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.

Each forum will comprise a two-hour presentation by IOGTR representatives on the Draft Gene Technology Bill 2000, including a question and answer session. After a refreshment break, the forum will reconvene for members of the public who have specific interests, so that these can be discussed in further detail.

All interested people are asked to RSVP by 15 February. This can be done by:
Tel: (02) 6270 4309 (during office hours) or fax: (02) 6270 4310 e-mail: iogtr@health.gov.au

Public Submissions: open until 10 March

Notification of the release of the exposure draft of the Bill and a call for public submissions appeared in newspapers across Australia in December 1999. Copies of the Draft Gene Technology Bill 2000 and an accompanying Explanatory Guide are available from IOGTR (contact details above). These documents and other background materials are also available from the IOGTR website: www.health.gov.au/tga/genetech.htm

The IOGTR would welcome written submissions on the Draft Gene Technology Bill 2000 from interested individuals and organisations by 10 March 2000. Submissions may be sent as hard copy, or by disk or e-mail to:

The Interim Office of the Gene Technology Regulator
Department of Health and Aged Care
MDP 54
PO Box 100
WODEN ACT 2606
Fax: (02) 6270 4310
e-mail: iogtr@health.gov.au

Background information/media copies of the legislation and guide:
Melinda Bromley, IOGTR (02) 6270 4389 or 0401 145 969