Major parties missing in action on nano regulation

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Major parties missing in action on nano regulation

Whilst the Australian Greens have pledged their support for a mandatory register of all nanomaterials in commercial use in the lead up to the Federal Election, the other major parties appear to be missing in action when it comes to regulating the risks associated with nanotechnology.

Government progress towards regulating nano forms of existing chemicals appears to have stalled. Meanwhile, despite their past emphasis on building public trust in nanotechnology oversight, the Coalition failed to answer Friends of the Earth’s Federal Election policy questionnaire.

Nanotechnology, the ‘science of the small’, has received generous funding from the past Coalition and current Labor governments alike. Yet in this election campaign the Coalition has avoided public scrutiny of their policy position on managing nanotechnology’s new health and environment risks, ensuring the right of workers and the public to know whether they face nano-exposure, and tackling nanotechnology’s social challenges.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Society has called for all nanomaterials to be subject to safety testing by scientific authorities prior to their inclusion in commercial products. While Australia’s chemical regulator the National Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) has regulated nano forms of new chemicals, it appears that moves to regulate nano forms of existing chemicals have stalled.

The Government has opposed labelling of nanomaterials for informed choice. Whilst the EU and New Zealand move to regulate nano-ingredients in sunscreen, our sunscreen regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration has opposed the labelling of nano-ingredients in sunscreen. This is despite consumer groups, unions, public health advocates and even the sunscreen industry itself calling for it!

While a number of European countries including France, Belgium, Denmark and Norway are moving to implement mandatory registers of nanomaterials our Federal Government has refused to take similar action here.

With the cessation of its National Enabling Technology Strategy (NETS) this year, the Government has dramatically scaled back funding for Safe Work Australia’s research on the occupational health and safety risks associated with nanomaterials.

The ALP has stated that “Federal Labor will continue to encourage public participation in decision making and consultations on government policy making processes”. However, it is not clear how this will take place, given that the government has abandoned its NETS community engagement program. It also scrapped its Stakeholder Advisory Council and Expert Forums – set up to consider important issues that may arise in the development or use of new technologies and provide advice to Government on 
ways it could address those issues.

From their response to our election questionnaire, Friends of the Earth is pleased to see that the Australian Greens support measures such as ensuring mandatory labelling of nano-ingredients, providing greater funding for social research and supporting a greater role for the public in nanotechnology decision making. We are disappointed that the Australian Labor Party could not do the same. We are even more concerned that the Coalition is totally missing in action when it comes to nanotechnology policy.

Download the election questionnaire

Download the Australian Greens response to the questionnaire 

Download the Australian Labor Party response to the questionnaire 

Authorised by Louise Sales, 100 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, 7000

Attachment Size
ALP response to nano survey 2013.pdf 356.08 KB
Greens Friends of the Earth_nanotechnology_response_19.7.13-1.pdf 272.74 KB

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