Luxton Refutes Fitzsimons Claims

  • John Luxton
Food, Fibre, Biosecurity and Border Control

Food and Fibre Minister John Luxton today totally rejected claims from Jeanette Fitzsimons that he was cavalier in his attitude to BST, reiterating earlier comments he has made on the subject and stressing that nothing could be further from the truth.

"BST is not available for use here in New Zealand. Ms Fitzsimons is quite wrong to imply that it has been or is about to receive instant approval. I labelled the Greens alarmist and with justification. The facts have again been distorted by Ms Fitzsimons to suit her own agenda."

"Two applications have been in train since 1994 and 1996 respectively. As I stated in my last press release on this issue, the process of the Animal Remedies Board is rigorous so as to protect New Zealand's key agricultural industries."

"When she suggests that I said there was nothing to worry about, in fact quite the opposite. I said it then and I'll say it again, BST has been banned in Canada and the European Union on animal welfare grounds but is registered for use in the USA. If in the application process, sufficiently robust evidence is provided that registration should not occur, then it won't proceed. It's as simple as that."

"She is also wrong to suggest that there would be no process for checking human health effects. The whole point of the requirement for toxicological studies is purely for reviewing the effects on human health. The EU has expressed concerns about the possible effects on human health and I can assure you that the Animal Remedies Board will take this information into account."

The existing legislation also allows the Animal Remedies Board to consider trade possible implications when reviewing applications eg. Asia. Interestingly the US (where BST is used in dairy herds) often exports their dairy surplus into Asian markets.

"New Zealand will make up it's own mind on the issue based on sound scientific evidence and fully aware of the market implications. Unlike Jeanette Fitzsimons the Government does not take the view that everything scientific is evil. We will not be making knee-jerk reactions."