Tonight we passed the Food bill in Parliament. This is the first piece of legislation I have taken through Parliament as a Minister. I am delighted the bill has received support from all parties. It has taken a long time to get here (10 years of development) and a lot of work has been put in to developing this significant piece of legislation. The new Food Act will put in place a risk-based approach, where regulatory requirements are based on the extent and nature of the food safety risks associated with particular kinds of businesses. The new system will help to ensure that food safety laws are cost effective. The Act will focus on the activities that a food business carries out, rather than the premises from which it operates. A number of different kinds of businesses will have more flexibility and lower compliance costs than they face under the current ‘one size fits all’ regime. The estimates are it will significantly reduce compliance costs for small businesses by $40 million and improve our food safety system. I am very grateful to the Ministers across Parliament who have worked on this including the Hon Annette King and the Hon Kate Wilkinson. I am also grateful to the many industry and community groups and officials who have worked on this legislation.
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 09:43:26 +0000
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