Innovative and groundbreaking inquiry to be held.  Community to ‘do it themselves’. 

Media Release 21 June 2005.

 An innovative and groundbreaking People's Inquiry into the impacts and effects of aerial spraying pesticides on people in urban areas, will be held in Waitakere City, New Zealand in November this year.  This is the first time an Inquiry of this scope and nature will be held anywhere in the world.  The People's Inquiry will be community-driven and led, which means that it is the community who will determine and agree the scope of the Inquiry and its terms of reference. 

The need to conduct an Inquiry now was urgent and timely. Government enthusiasm for aerial spraying continues unabated.  There have been recent warnings that aerial spraying is on the cards against the Fall Webworm moth in East Auckland, and the Minister of Conservation has granted blanket permission to aerial spray 300,000 hectares of conservation land in Greater Auckland for any moth pest.

An innovative and groundbreaking People's Inquiry into the impacts and effects of aerial spraying pesticides on people in urban areas, will be held in Waitakere City, New Zealand in November this year. 

The PAM [painted apple moth] Community Network, which is co-ordinating the Inquiry, says it has previously explored every option with the Government to obtain an open inquiry into the human impacts and the conduct of these aerial spraying eradication campaigns.

Hana Blackmore, convenor of the Interim Steering Committee for the People's Inquiry, said that when all else failed, "we decided to hold an inquiry ourselves". 

"This is the first time an Inquiry of this scope and nature will be held anywhere in the world.  The People's Inquiry will be community-driven and led, which means that it is the community who will determine and agree the scope of the Inquiry and it's terms of reference."

Hana said the Inquiry will be heard in front of a Commission of three to five respected members of national and international standing with expertise in the effects of  chemicals on human health, human rights, ethics, social impacts and a community perspective. 

The Interim Steering Committee says it has already secured the commitment of one international expert, and expects to present the names of all proposed commissioners to the community for their endorsement at a public meeting in July.

"At last the people themselves will get the opportunity, not only to have their experience heard and taken seriously, but to positively contribute to future biosecurity programmes and research directions,"  Hana said.

"Since the early days of the first urban spraying programme in East Auckland, there has been a consistent pattern of failing to hear the voice of the people being sprayed.  Their concerns and experience, particularly of the adverse health effects, have been trivialised and dismissed, and even basic human rights denied."

Hana said the need to conduct an Inquiry now was urgent and timely. "Government enthusiasm for aerial spraying continues unabated.  There have been recent warnings that aerial spraying is on the cards against the Fall Webworm moth in East Auckland, and the Minister of Conservation has granted blanket permission to aerial spray 300,000 hectares of conservation land in Greater Auckland for any moth pest.

The Interim Steering Committee will be holding a  public meeting with the community at the Kelston Community Centre, Waitakere City at 7.00pm on July 28^th 2005 to discuss the process for and the scope of the People's Inquiry.