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Signing the GIA Deed

Description

Establishing value

In this section


Taking part in GIA is not a decision that can be made lightly, as signing the Deed has legal and financial implications for both the industry organisation and sector participants. Industry organisations must also be able to demonstrate they have the support of sector participants to sign the Deed. Establishing the value to the sector of signing up to GIA will help with gaining the support of sector participants.

What the Deed offers primary industries


GIA aims to improve overall biosecurity outcomes for New Zealand through partnership between government and eligible industry sector organisations. GIA will strengthen industries’ focus on biosecurity and ensure better alignment between MPI and industry priorities. It will also help to improve the responsiveness of all partners to emerging biosecurity risks..

The Deed offers industry joint decision-making rights with MPI in making co-investment decisions about biosecurity readiness and response activities. It also offers greater opportunity for industry to engage with MPI across the biosecurity system.  Fulfilling the GIA Deed obligation for engagement across the system will ensure a shared approach to the system, and support ongoing and better targeted discussions between MPI and industry Signatories on how best to refine and improve the system. 

Specific benefits will be different for each industry, according to their interests, biosecurity risks, priorities and current level of engagement and investment. 

The costs related to GIA fall into four areas:

  1. Getting the agreement of industry members to sign the Deed and presenting this in an application to the Minister for Primary Industries,
  2. Meeting the minimum commitments outlined in section 3.2 of the Deed,
  3. Funding the industry organisation’s involvement in Deed administration and governance. 
  4. As a Deed Signatory, an industry organisation makes a future commitment to:
  5. Pay its share for readiness and response activities agreed in any Operational Agreement signed with MPI. 

The costs of GIA will be specific to the circumstances of each Signatory, depending how they choose to meet minimum commitments and any operational agreements they enter into. For more information on costs and cost sharing please review the following factsheets and guidance below.

 

 

Minimum commitments

The commitments made by Signatories are the means for delivering Deed outcomes. Minimum commitments are drawn from the capacity and capability that Signatories contribute to the biosecurity system and are not eligible for cost sharing. They set the foundation of MPI and industry commitment to the partnership, and provide certainty and transparency as to the contribution of each Signatory. They reflect the role that industry organisations play in representing the interests of their members in the GIA.

Signatories acknowledge that the biosecurity capacity of industries is variable. There is, however, an expectation that all Signatories will have, as a minimum, the capacity and capability to participate in Deed governance processes, and to provide the specific resources necessary to achieve the outcomes of this Deed. Specific commitments of MPI and industries will be detailed in Operational Agreements.

 

Clause 3.2 of the GIA Deed: Commitments

3.2.1 Minimum commitments for all Signatories to achieve Deed outcomes include:

a.      Maintaining access to technical biosecurity capacity and capability.

b.      Maintaining or improving the capacity to recognise and rapidly report the detection of any
         unwanted organism.

c.      Promoting awareness and use of mechanisms to report changes in New Zealand’s biosecurity
         status.

d.     Establishing and maintaining mechanisms to communicate between Signatories and with
        relevant stakeholders.

e.     Securing and maintaining sufficient resources to meet their commitments for the
        administration of this Deed including annual meetings, consultation and decision-making.

f.      Establishing or accessing the necessary capacity and capability to engage in processes to
         implement this Deed, and any Operational Agreements developed.

g.     Reporting annually to the governance group on the progress made in readiness and response                activities and delivery against minimum commitments.  

3.2.2 Minimum MPI commitments to this Deed and its implementation include:

a.      Maintaining a core competency to deliver effective response and readiness activities, including
         diagnostic and investigation capability, and to negotiate market access.

b.      Rapidly notifying potentially affected Signatories when a suspected unwanted organism is
         detected in New Zealand.

c.      Urgently establishing preliminary response arrangements consistent with Deed requirements
         and any Operational Agreements that may be in place, including initiating decision-making,
         cost sharing and impact/risk analysis processes.

d.      Managing trade and market access issues arising from the detection of the unwanted
         organism, and meeting international reporting obligations.

e.      Representing the interests of non-Signatories and other stakeholders, including Maori.

f.       When a response commences, the Crown will initially fund each industry Signatory's share of                 the response cost (a "Crown Loan") and seek repayment on terms as agreed pursuant to the                   relevant Operational Agreement. 

3.2.3 Minimum industry Signatory commitments to this Deed and its implementation include:

a.      Being aware of the industry biosecurity risk profile and taking measures to manage the
         biosecurity risks that industry is best placed to manage.

b.     Communicating with industry membership, including Maori, on biosecurity in general to elicit
         better biosecurity outcomes.

c.      Working with MPI to integrate industry into response delivery programmes and processes.

d.      Raising awareness of response procedures and policies.

e.      Promoting early reporting of unwanted organisms to MPI.

f.       Making available appropriately skilled and committed people to engage in readiness and                         response activities, including technical and operational experts.

g.     Raising awareness within their membership, of the GIA and the commitments that have been
        made through this Deed and any Operational Agreement(s).

 

Business case guidance

A guide for developing a GIA business case has been developed by the GIA Secretariat. The guide may help you through the process of assessing whether the Deed is of value to your sector. It prompts thinking about:

  • How important biosecurity is to your sector?
  • What risk a biosecurity incident poses to your sector and how it would impact business growth and/or profitability?
  • How much your sector is investing in biosecurity activities already, and why?
  • The biosecurity risks that your sector is most concerned about, where they are and how likely they are to arrive in New Zealand?
  • How your sector would respond to them and minimise the impact they have on the sector and its participants?
  • How important it is to your sector to have a say in how biosecurity risks are managed?

 

This page was last reviewed April 2023 

 

 

 

 



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Eligibility guidelines

An information pack, Signing the Deed, provides information and advice about the requirements for signing the Deed. It covers establishing if GIA is of value, eligibility requirements, consultation requirements, funding options and applying to the Minister.

GIA Signatories

Find out who has signed the GIA Deed and the sectors they represent.

Report a new pest or disease

To report suspected exotic land, freshwater and marine pests, or exotic disease in plants or animals, call the MPI hotline:

0800 80 99 66

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