Speech by The Hon Christopher Pyne
Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing
House of Representatives Alcove, Parliament House, Canberra

Good morning ladies and gentlemen:

This week we celebrate the 8^th National Science Week – an event designed to show the wonder and relevance of science to the young people of Australia.

It is therefore very appropriate that I am here to launch a publication about an area of science that has, in the past, polarised public opinion.

Yet, the spin-offs from this science have the potential to provide so many benefits to the general community.

Of course, I’m talking about gene technology. The controversy surrounds the use of this technology to design products for the benefit of humankind, whether they be new therapies, drugs, crops or food.

As with any new technology, it is the job of government to ensure that the resulting products are safe for users. In the case of food and gene technology, no genetically modified food can enter the marketplace without having its safety evaluated by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

Government scientists employed by FSANZ identify what information a company must provide if it wants its GM food product approved for sale.

Geneticists, molecular biologists, toxicologists, nutritionists and food technologists at FSANZ carefully assess the scientific data provided by the company to ensure that the new GM food is as safe and as nutritious as its non-GM counterpart.

To date, FSANZ has given the green light to 25 genetically modified foods involving the commodities corn, sugar beet, cotton, canola, soybean and potato.

Good science is obviously needed for these assessments. But I want to make the point that there is more to being a scientist in the public sector than just doing good science.

Like their colleagues in CSIRO and other parts of the public service, FSANZ scientists also need to be better-than-average communicators.  

By that, I mean that they must be able to express their ideas and results to a range of audiences – including to me, as the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for FSANZ.

It’s a given that a government scientist is proficient in his or her discipline. Today’s government scientists are also negotiators, media commentators and managers of people, both within and outside their agency or department.

In the food regulation area, especially, community consultation about a food issue is not only desirable but is also a fundamental requirement of the regulatory process.  

Scientists need people skills.   Scientists no longer – if they ever did – work in splendid isolation, revealing their findings to an astounded world.

These days – days in which the mystique of the white coat has long gone – the community is rightly more questioning about the march of science.

Government scientists play a role in these public debates by creating transparent and inclusive processes for making regulatory decisions – and by ensuring that the community has access to the information necessary to produce informed debates.

Launch of the publication  GM Foods

This brings me to the purpose of this function – to launch a FSANZ publication called GM Foods.

It is an outstanding example of the lengths taken by government scientists to explain their approaches and procedures to the community.

Some of you will be aware of an earlier version of this booklet calledGM Foods and the Consumer. It was widely praised by a wide spectrum of people and organisations with an interest in GM matters.

But four years have elapsed since its publication and the gene technology scene continues to move on. FSANZ has had to modify its safety assessment work to stay abreast of the best international practices in this area.

Because of continued public interest in the nature of GM foods, their safety and their place in global food production, the booklet GM Foodsattempts to provide an accurate picture of how FSANZ currently goes about its safety assessment work.

In Part 1, you will find an overview of the safety assessment process, including details of how GM foods are regulated in Australia and New Zealand, what is required before GM foods can be approved for sale and how GM foods are likely to develop in the future.

The labelling system for GM foods is also described. The GM food standard requires that the food must be labelled if there is altered DNA or protein in the final product or if the food has altered characteristics. This is important, of course, for people who may, for one reason or another, wish to avoid food with genetically modified ingredients. It also establishes a system that is not overly complex, is enforceable and does not increase the cost of food.

Part 2 contains a case study of a safety assessment in some detail.

I’m told that you may have to concentrate a little harder for this section of the booklet, but it is essential reading for those who may be unsure about the rigour of FSANZ’s processes – or those who may be critical.

I congratulate FSANZ for having the foresight to produce GM Foods, which has been published through funding provided by the Australian Government agency Biotechnology Australia.

I commend GM Foods to you and have pleasure in officially launching the publication.

As for other events during National Science Week, I encourage you to join in – with or without your families, but preferably with them.

Thank you.