The state’s peak farming organisation, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA), says a review of the regulations governing the poppy industry released today has identified issues that the government must address urgently.
They concern over-regulation, rules not required by the international convention covering the growing of poppies for industrial use, and the lack of transparency of the Poppy Advisory and Control Board’s operations.
“We have no problem with the general thrust of Mr Ramsay’s recommendations,” TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said, “however, you have to query why it is dated July 2013 but only released today.
“Because of that time delay, Mr Ramsay’s report does not address the now real situation of poppies being grown in other states and potentially imported for processing in Tasmania. In light of this significant change in the industry, it will be important to ensure that Tasmanian poppy growers are not forced to bear the costs of unnecessary regulatory burdens. It is surely time that there is discussion about development of a national regulatory regime,” Ms Davis noted.
The report states that “the present arrangements for managing the industry are outdated. They may have been appropriate for a fledgling industry, but are anachronistic for controlling an industry which has achieved such significance to the Tasmanian economy and such significance within the global licit opiate market”.
Ms Davis said the report made some important and pertinent observations about the current regulatory system, including:
The regulatory regime under which the industry operates is obscure, the “black letter law” limited, and “there are no available regulations, guidelines or codes of practice such as one might find in other regulatory systems”.
The international treaty under which the industry operates (the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961) does not require growers to be licensed because they are not growing poppies for opium, yet Tasmanian growers have to be licensed. This regulation needs to be reviewed in light of the changing industry landscape.
the lack of written policies and guidelines used by either the board or the relevant decision maker as delegate in the exercise of the minister’s discretion “does not provide transparency and independence in decision making”;
“The report does not address the issue which was key in growers’ minds when making submissions – that is the government’s proposed change to require growers to fund the cost of industry regulation. The Ramsay report is silent on this matter yet the government’s position has been that growers eventually will foot the bill. Several of the recommendations in the report do not stand up if that is not the case.”
“We welcome the government’s commitment recognition of the important role the poppy industry plays in Tasmania’s economy. However, we urge them not to rush to implement the recommendations without further consultation with industry,” Ms Davis said. “The Ramsay report raises as many questions as it answers, and there is an urgent need to revisit many of the assumptions and recommendations based on changes in the industry’s operating environment since the report’s completion.”
TFGA chief executive Jan Davis
