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The New Zealand
National Committee
By Patrick Duffy - Secretary NZ NC
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New Zealand’s involvement with the IEC
began as a “Registered Subscriber” between 1972 and
1979. The New
Zealand Electrotechnical Committee was admitted as a full member
of the IEC at the 44th General Meeting, held in Sydney in June 1979.
New Zealand is now a participating member in eight IEC technical
committees and 18 subcommittees, with observer status on a further
89 committees. New Zealand also holds the Secretariat of SC
61H (Safety of electrically operated farm appliances) and provides
the chairman of TC
61 (Safety of household and similar electrical appliances).
Representatives on the New Zealand National Committee (NZNC) are
drawn from industry and government agencies with an interest in
the activities of the IEC. The NZNC is primarily a policy committee
and as such does not handle day-to-day business.
Mission
The object of the NZNC is:
- To recommend/advise Standards
New Zealand (SNZ) on New Zealand involvement in the IEC and
other electrotechnical bodies associated with the IEC as appropriate;
- To advise and, where possible, facilitate the
funding levels and the an annual budget to cover IEC activities;
- To recommend programs and activities;
- To recommend and assist with activities related
to standards to promote consistency between those international
and national standards and activities that fall within the scope
of the IEC;
- To recommend, as appropriate, technical advisory
groups to cover New Zealand’s participation in IEC activities;
- To recommend/advise SNZ on the selection of
appropriate experts to represent New Zealand on technical committees
when required;
- To recommend/advise SNZ on IEC management and
policy issues when required;
- To ensure that the technical committees (including
the joint Australia/New Zealand committees) give full consideration
to adopting IEC International Standards (through and supported
by SNZ);
- To promote international standardization, including
the World Standards Cooperation with ISO
and ITU;
- To promote the value of international standards
and New Zealand’s involvement.
 Organizational
structure
The NZNC is a committee of Standards New Zealand,
the trading arm of the Standards Council. As a crown-owned entity
operating under the Standards Act 1988, the Council is responsible
to Parliament and reports through the Ministry
of Economic Development.
SNZ is governed by the Standards Council and is the national body
for all national, regional and international standardization. The
New Zealand Standards Act stipulates the industry and community
organizations represented on the Council.
New Zealand has a highly deregulated economy, and the government
sustains a 'user pays' policy for the development and maintenance
of standards. SNZ does not have any involvement in conformity assessment
or certification and does not receive any direct government grant.
The organization gains revenue from sales of publications and contracts
for services. An area where Standards have been promoted is their
value in distributing the results of research in practical commercial
applications. A standard provides an ideal avenue to develop thoroughly
peer review and promulgate the results of research either through
a new document or the revision of an existing standard.
Customers and committee members have consistently told SNZ that
market relevance, timeliness and best practice project management
are crucial to the successful development of standards and other
documents. A key strength of standards is their inclusive nature.
To foster this, SNZ has established industry advisory groups in
key electrical, building, health and other sectors. The New Zealand
IEC National Committee is formed from key representatives of these
groups with interests in electrotechnology. The Industry advisory
groups provide advice to SNZ on development and adoption as New
Zealand standards.
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| NZNC's
Institutional structure |
Joint National Standards
SNZ and Standards
Australia International (SAI) also work together to produce
joint national standards which are mostly directly adopted (identical
or modified) or based on IEC or ISO standards.
They manage joint technical committees and joint projects along
with joint policy boards. SAI and SNZ have an agreement (the Active
Cooperation Agreement, or ACA) to produce joint standards that apply
uniformly in both Australia and New Zealand. The committees that
develop these joint standards, comprising representatives from both
countries, can also produce national standards. About 40% of the
committees are joint. Procedures for the development of joint standards
are agreed to by organizations in both countries.
The objectives of Joint Standards are the following:
International Standards essential to trade
Economies in the Pacific region need assistance
to establish a strong and pragmatically based standards and conformance
infrastructure. SNZ is actively working with a number of regional
bodies such as APEC
(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), PASC
(Pacific Area Standards Congress) and the IEC APSG (Asia-Pacific
Steering Group) to assist in providing the level of capacity building
and training needed in the region.
An important challenge for New Zealand and other smaller countries
in the Pacific region is participation in international standardization
at IEC and ISO where it affects trade. Reductions in tariffs over
the past 10 years have facilitated trade. However the importance
of standards as a mechanism for fostering or hindering trade has
increased as highlighted in a recent survey of New Zealand exporters.
The survey shows that many countries still use national standards
as a barrier to their markets and international standards are a
potent tool in breaking down these barriers.
For international standards to be effective for New Zealand exporters
and importers, there must continue to be New Zealand input in their
development. Representation on those international committees developing
standards of interest to New Zealand is therefore vital.
Contact details:
New Zealand Electrotechnical Committee
Standards New Zealand
Private Bag 2439
NZ - WELLINGTON 6020
Telephone: +64 (4) 498 5990
Telefax: +64 (4) 498 5994
E-mail: New Zealand Electrotechnical
Committee
URL: http://www.standards.co.nz/
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