Page 1912 - Week 09 - Thursday, 19 October 1989
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Pesticides banned for use in NSW and/or Victoria will not be registered in the ACT and must be handed in within 21 days from the commencement of the Act; that is, by 27 October 1989.
The environment protection section is providing a "hand in" service for both householders and industry to ensure that these chemicals are taken out of the system. This will be one step towards the long-term protection of the environment. Mr Speaker, during the early stages of this new law, the staff of the environment protection section will provide every possible assistance to the public and pesticide users. A meeting has already been held with the representatives of the Pest Controllers Association and one is proposed with Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association to develop transition arrangements.
I am aware of the intense public interest in the safe use of pesticides. I propose to set up an advisory committee to advise me on the operation of this legislation. I intend that there will be broad representation on this committee. This representation will be drawn from users, unions, government, conservation groups and the community.
Mr Speaker, I would like to outline the procedures which will now apply in the administration of the Pesticides Act. Where offences such as illegal use or possession of pesticides occur, prosecutions may proceed under section 71 of the Act. The costs of disposal of the pesticides may be payable by a person convicted of the offence. In some cases, a pesticide which is not registered may be required for a specific purpose. In these cases, a permit system has been included in the Act to allow the use of unregistered pesticides for restricted, experimental and emergency situations only. These permits will be issued by the registrar only when the applicant can show that he or she is a fit and proper person to hold such a permit and that there are no registered products capable of performing the task required.
Another important aspect of the commencement of this Act is that the ACT may now join the other States and the Northern Territory in the national scheme for the assessment, clearance and registration of agricultural chemicals. The ACT will now be represented on the committees and council serving this scheme. This will provide the ACT with the opportunity to continually assess new and old pesticides and receive first-hand scientific information on pesticides.
I am proud of what the Government has achieved in this legislation. The Act will remove a potential danger to public health and the environment, a danger which we could not properly address without self-government.
The monitoring of maximum residual limits in food and development of legislation relating to the registration and health of the operators will be handled by my colleague the
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