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Woden, ACT, Australia
September 1, 2003
Early-bird notification:
Your opportunity to comment on
the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan for a dealing
involving
intentional release of genetically modified canola DIR 032/2002
Application
The Office of the Gene
Technology Regulator (OGTR) has received an application for
a licence under section 40 of the Gene Technology Act
2000 (the Act) which, if approved, would involve the
intentional release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
into the Australian environment. The OGTR is considering on
application received from Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd (formerly
Aventis CropScience Pty Ltd):
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DIR 032/2002 – limited and controlled release of hybrid,
herbicide tolerant GM canola in the canola growing regions of
New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. The proposed
release involves 12 sites in winter seasons (2004, 2005, 2006)
and 8 sites in summer seasons (2003/4, 2004/5, 2005/6 and
2006/7), totalling 72 ha over 4 years.
Purpose of this notification
As
the Gene Technology Regulator, I would like to advise people who
have previously expressed interest in knowing about work with
GMOs in Australia that they now have the opportunity to access
information about the application, including the application
itself.
You can obtain a copy of the application from my Office (see
contact details below). When contacting the office, please
quote the reference number of the application you are interested
in. As the application is quite lengthy, you may prefer to
receive a summary of the application, which is posted on our
website with this document (under “What’s new”. If you would
like to receive a hard copy of the summary, please contact us
and we will post it to you.
A
comprehensive ‘Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan’ (RARMP)
for this application is now being prepared with input from a
broad range of expert groups and stakeholders, including State
and Territory Governments, relevant local councils, the
Australian Government agencies, the Australian Government
Environment Minister and the Gene Technology Technical Advisory
Committee. The RARMP is expected to be available for public
comment in mid October 2003. The Act specifies a 30 day minimum
consultation period. However, at this stage I anticipate
allowing 6 weeks for submissions to be received.
If
you have questions about the application, or how you can provide
comment, please contact us at:
The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator
PO Box 100
Woden, ACT, 2606
Website: www.ogtr.gov.au
E-mail:
ogtr@health.gov.au
Phone: 1800 181 030
Fax: (02) 6271 4202
(Dr) Sue D Meek
Gene Technology Regulator
29 August 2003 |
