Germplasm News

Issue 2, 13 April 2006

Welcome to the second edition of Germplasm News. The objective of this newsletter is to provide people with an interest in importing new plants species into New Zealand with information about how to successfully engage with the Hazardous Substance and New Organisms (HSNO) Act.

Getting plants added to the PBI - yes it is possible

Immediately prior to the introduction of the HSNO Act, the Plants Biosecurity Index (PBI) was developed as a list of what was considered to already be present in New Zealand. Great idea in principle, but in practice it has created some difficulties, in particular because a number of plants never made it to the list. Also, as we all know, taxonomists exist to make life more interesting by the reclassification of plants which may result in name changes. While the reclassification may create a plethora of synonyms, our inexperience with Latin can create many interesting spelling variations which become part of the written records. Unfortunately, the PBI is not currently equipped to deal with these issues.

In the past, to add a name to the PBI it would have been necessary to get a statutory determination of organism status done (also known as a section 26). However, it was felt that in some situations, particularly where it was obvious that the plant was present in New Zealand, the need for a statutory determination was overly bureaucratic. As a result, ERMA New Zealand has developed a process where we can provide non-statutory advice on the status of the organism based on evidence provided by the importer. This advice is supplied to the importer and sent to the relevant people at the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry who can authorise the release of plant material and have the name added to the PBI. Please note you can still get a statutory determination should you prefer this route.

So how do you go about getting non-statutory advice?

Ideally, you should establish before you import plant material whether or not it is on the PBI. This can avoid delays at the border, or the disappointment of having your plants being refused entry. If the plant is not on the PBI and you believe it should be, come and talk to ERMA New Zealand (info@ermanz.govt.nz). If you can provide information such as the following, it is highly likely that we will be able to get your species added to the PBI:

  • evidence of synonymy to a species already listed on the PBI;
  • evidence, if it is a hybrid, that all the parents of the species are listed on the PBI;
  • signed declarations from Botanical Gardens that they currently hold the species in their collection;
  • copies of sales catalogues and declarations from nurseries that have sold the species prior to 1998;
  • copies of MAF permits to import issued prior to 1998; and/or
  • copies of publications showing that it was present prior to 1998.

Again, if you don't know where to start looking for this information, talk to us. ERMA New Zealand staff have a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to finding this kind of information, and we will do our best to help.

How much does it cost?

The best news is that this is a service we provide free as we recognise that the current lack of a list of what is present in New Zealand is inhibiting access to plant material. There will be more about the list of what is present in New Zealand in the next issue of Germplasm.

Approvals update…

By using the process described above 175 species of plants have been added to the Plant Biosecurity Index since the last newsletter.

Having identified some major issues at the Margot Forde Forage Germplasm Centre, 974 species have been 'deemed approved' which means they are now contained and regulated under the HSNO Act. There is currently a further application under consideration that will allow the growing and replenishment of their seed stocks.

Check out our next issue for:

Advice on getting your very own HSNO Act approval - it's not as expensive as you may think…

Contact:

Geoff Ridley
Science Manager, New Organisms
Geoff.Ridley@ermanz.govt.nz
(04)9184795
Sonia Whiteman
Science Advisor, New Organisms
Sonia.Whiteman@ermanz.govt.nz
(04) 9184872