Changes to an act of parliament seen as critical to speeding up access to overseas products to control pests and invasive species in NZ is unlikely to get passed before the November election. The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Amendment Bill, also known as the HSNO Act, has fallen victim to a huge raft of other legislation that the Government wants passed ahead of the bill in the current parliamentary term. The progress of the HSNO Bill was front and center of topics discussed at the recent Animal and Plant Health (APHANZ) conference in Wellington. The CEO of APHANZ, Dr Liz Shackleton, says a big concern for her members was the timeframes within the HSNO Act. She says while they would like to get the HSNO Bill through Parliament, she recognises the huge legislative backlog.