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Consumers' Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill (Consistent) (Section 14) [2017] NZBORARp 3 (31 January 2017)
Last Updated: 7 January 2019
31 January 2017
Hon Christopher Finlayson QC, Attorney-General
LEGAL ADVICE
LPA 01 01 21
Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill
- We
have considered whether the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of
Food) Bill (‘the Bill’), a Member’s
Bill in the name of
Steffan Browning MP, is consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act
1990 (‘the Bill of Rights Act’).
- The
purpose of the Bill is to provide a mandatory labelling system in New Zealand
which provides consumers with information about
the country of origin of single
component foods (food or food products containing only one vegetable, fruit,
meat, seafood, nut,
grain, seed, or oil). The Bill requires all packaged and
unpackaged single component foods on sale in New Zealand to have a statement
identifying their country of origin.
- The
Bill further provides for offences relating to making false or misleading
statements relating to the country of origin of single
component foods on
labels, packaging and signage, and in advertising.
Section 14 – The right to freedom of expression
- Section
14 of the Bill of Rights Act affirms the right to freedom of expression. This
includes the freedom to seek, receive, and impart
information and opinions of
any kind and in any form. The right has been interpreted as including the right
not to be compelled to
say certain things or to provide certain
information.1
- The
Bill contains a number of clauses which compel the provision of specific
information. Clauses 6 and 7 require all packaged and
unpackaged single
component foods on sale in New Zealand to have a statement that identifies the
country of origin on the label or
which is clearly displayed in connection with
the retail display of the food.
- Mandating
country of origin labelling for single component foods requires retailers to
provide accurate information about where food
products are grown, harvested or
produced and avoids consumers assuming, in the absence of such information, that
such food has been
produced in New Zealand. This will allow consumers to make
more informed purchasing decisions, which is a sufficiently important
objective.
The Bill extends to food products the current regime of country of manufacture
labelling applying to clothing and footware
for sale. The Consumer Information
Standard (Country of Origin) Regulations 1992 set out specific rules that
require all new clothing
or footwear for sale in New Zealand to be labelled with
information that clearly states the country where the items were made or
produced.
1 RJR MacDonald v Attorney-General of
Canada (1995) 127 DLR (4th)
- We
are satisfied that the potential limits on freedom of expression in the Bill are
justified in terms of s 5 of the Bill of Rights
Act as they are rationally and
proportionately connected to this objective. A mandatory regime of country of
origin labelling avoids
retailers and manufacturers using country of origin
labels as a marketing tool, displaying labels only when it is in their interests
to do so and is consistent with 47 other countries (including most of New
Zealand’s trading partners) that have mandatory
regimes.
- The
offences provided for by clause 9 relating to making false or misleading
statements relating to the country of origin of single
component foods on
labels, packaging and signage, and in advertising, have a maximum fine of
$10,000 for individuals and
$50,000 for body corporates (where
intention to commit the offence is established, and
$5,000 and $10,000 respectively in all other cases). These fines impair the
right to freedom of expression no more than is necessary
and are proportionate
to the Bill’s objective. They are, for example, of a much lower scale
compared to the fines imposed for
making misrepresentations under the Fair
Trading Act 1986 ($200,000 for individuals and $600,000 for body corporates with
no distinction
made in terms of intention to commit the offence).
Conclusion
- We
have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with the rights and
freedoms affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.
Jeff Orr
Chief Legal Counsel Office of Legal Counsel
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