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AgVetLink December 2004

Biosecurity Act – changes in responsibility

At the Biosecurity summit held at Waipuna Lodge in Auckland on 18 and 19 November, the newly named ‘Biosecurity New Zealand’ (BNZ) gave presentations and held a number of workshops of interest to the ACVM Group. There was an opportunity to work through the new responsibilities that the agency is taking on from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Conservation, as well as to look at any potential changes for the traditional areas of responsibility. The summit was attended by Debbie Morris and Warren Hughes, and a number of ACVM stakeholders were present as well.

The changes in responsibility are explained in Biosecurity magazine issue 55, November (http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/publications/biosecurity-magazine/2004). All of the presentations made at the summit are also available (http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/biosec/camp-acts/summit).

In the new year, the ACVM Group will work with the new Directors of BNZ (in particular, Debbie Pearson, Pre-border; Peter Thompson, Post-border; and Douglas Birnie, Policy and Business Services) to determine what changes, if any, are needed to the currently agreed ACVM thresholds and criteria to support the altered biosecurity responsibilities.

Check out future editions of AgVetLink for details of any proposals.