Australia’s farm chemical regulator has been unresponsive to health and environmental risks and should not be given extended powers without far greater safeguards and budgets.
WWF has lodged a submission to the review of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), which is responsible for assessing the safety of pesticides and developing label conditions for their use.
The review will determine whether the APVMA should be given additional powers to monitor and enforce those label conditions, which are currently the responsibility of state governments.
"The APVMA claims its review process is effective yet at least eight chemicals have been under review for more than 13 years," said WWF Australia’s spokesperson Juliette King.
"Given these pesticides are on sale while under review, 13 years is too long to ascertain their safety," Ms King said.
Endosulfan has been banned in over 60 countries but remains approved for use in Australia.
The toxic pesticide diuron has been under review since 2002. Despite interim findings of unacceptable risks to seagrass and dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, it remains available for sale.
Another toxic pesticide, atrazine, has been banned in Europe since 2007 but is still widely available in Australia. Atrazine is part of a cocktail of chemicals that has been detected up to 60 kilometres within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
"The lack of action to deregister these dangerous chemicals suggests the APVMA gives the benefit of any doubt to the pesticide industry rather than to Australians and their environment," Ms King said.
"Currently only about one per cent of pesticide revenues is spent ensuring they are safe. We do not support giving the APVMA more responsibilities unless there are far safer operations and bigger
budgets recovered from the pesticide industry.
"The fact that we are still using these chemicals in Australia is not the fault of farming communities but of the regulatory body, which needs to catch up with the rest of the world. Many farmers want to
do the right thing but they need better choices. Unfortunately, highly toxic chemicals are still on the shelves.
"We need a cost recovery system that is commensurate with risk – where the registration, assessment, monitoring, evaluation of chemicals, and their cost recovery, encourages innovative lower risk products and deters the continued sale of dangerous chemicals."