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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 7 Hansard (22 September) . . Page.. 2022 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, the meeting also discussed a number of other issues which I would be happy to discuss with members if they are interested. These issues included national health priorities; national performance indicators and targets in Aboriginal health; reuse of medical devices labelled as single use; national rural health strategy; and the Red Cross blood service. The next meeting of Health Ministers will take place in about 12 months' time. I will be the chair of that meeting and I am looking forward to the challenge.

Mr Speaker, I would also like to advise members of the outcomes of the meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Council. Among the issues discussed, I had a particular interest in issues of food labelling to improve informed choice amongst consumers about the foods they are eating. I was pleased to receive support for this motion:

Members adopt the principle that accurate and meaningful labelling in plain English is paramount for the protection and promotion of public health and safety, and vital for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

Mr Speaker, having received support for this important principle, I was disappointed when the council did not support me on a proposal to have all citrus fruit coated with oxidised polyethylene labelled as "plastic coated" as a true representation of the coating. These polymer coatings are being used on citrus fruit and I was concerned that the Australia New Zealand Food Authority proposal to label these coatings as "waxed" may be deceptive to consumers. As an aside, I will say to members that polyethylene is the coating known as gladwrap that people wrap lunches and so forth in. While I was unsuccessful on this specific issue, I believe I was successful in raising awareness among members about the need to be more vigilant in decision-making.

I also proposed to the council that a national standard be introduced to require the labelling of egg cartons to indicate the method of egg production. This was in accordance with section 24B of the ACT Food (Amendment) Act 1997 which requires all egg cartons displayed or sold in the ACT to be labelled with the conditions under which the hens produced the eggs. Unfortunately, this proposal was rejected by all other members of the council. However, members would be aware that, given the national implications of the ACT legislation, the Productivity Commission is investigating the ACT legislation at the moment. I shall bring legislation into the Assembly on Thursday to deal with this issue in a temporary way.

I was more successful in the discussion on the labelling of food produced with the use of gene technology. I believe that the consumer has a right to know if a food has been produced by gene technology, and I believe that only then can they make an informed purchasing decision. Two aspects were covered at the council meeting. The first was the introduction of a regulatory system to require foods produced using gene technology to be assessed for their safety for human consumption and listed in a table before they can be sold. The second was a requirement for labelling of foods produced using gene technology.

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