GM canola moratorium lifted in two states

The NSW and Victorian governments have decided to lift their moratoria on genetically modified canola crops and South Australia is considering its position.

While the NSW government will have the backing of the National Party in moving its legislation through parliament, The Age newspaper is reporting that Victorian backbench MPs are unhappy with Premier John Brumby's decision.

NSW primary industries Minister Ian Macdonald said amendments to existing legislation would be made in the current parliamentary session, ending the four-year moratorium on GM crops.

Macdonald said GM canola would be available for the 2008 planting season on a limited basis.

Legislation would be introduced to establish an expert committee on the ability of farmers to segregate GM and non-GM crops, a government statement said.

"It's important to note the Minister will have the power to refuse approval to cultivate a specific crop if an industry fails to meet the criteria imposed by the expert committee," the statement said.

Macdonald said the strongest safeguards would remain in place.

"The [Office of the Gene Technology Regulator] has carried out detailed assessments and found that GM canola is as safe for humans and the environment as conventional canola," he said.

"GM canola will be segregated from non-GM canola - people will know what they are eating.

The Western Australian and Tasmanian governments have opposed the move, calling on the other states to maintain the moratorium. A joint select committee is currently reviewing Tasmania's moratorium.

In a joint statement, WA agriculture minister Kim Chance and Tasmanian primary industries minister David Llewellyn urged the other states "to respect the wishes of Australian consumers, food manufacturers and farmers for the moratoria to be maintained".

"Opening up other parts of Australia to GM crops could lead to large-scale contamination, subsequent risks to market access and price premiums currently enjoyed by Australian canola farmers, while imposing higher costs on them for product segregation," Chance said.

"Unless consumers tell us otherwise, WA will not be changing its policy on GM food.

"The moratorium supports Australia's 'clean and green' status and is also reflective of overwhelming public opinion in WA and consumer sentiment around the world."

The Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) group has attacked the decision, calling it a major affront to the organic food industry and to consumers.

BFA's Scott Kinnear said the planting of GM canola would make it impossible for organic farmers to know if their crops were at risk of pollen cross-contamination.

"Unless farmers undertake expensive tests they will not know if they have been contaminated," Kinnear said.

"Organic and non-GE food processors will be burdened with additional requirements for tests of grains and oils to manage and eliminate contamination risk.

"In addition costly supply chain segregation such as containerisation will need to be considered by grain farmers and food processors. Other potential costs may include expensive food recalls where contamination has occurred."

Dr Andrew Monk, the chairman of the BFA's organic standards committee, which presides over the Australian Organic Standard (AOS) under which the majority of organic farmers are certified, said the move would "mean the inevitable unleashing of pollens that cannot be completely regulated nor controlled in the open environment and the food and seed chain.

"This will restrict choice and freedom, particularly for organic farmers and a wider range of consumers, under current regulatory and market arrangements," Monk said.

Some in the science community have publicly spoken of their support for the overturning of the moratorium.

Professor Mike Jones, head of the Plant Biotechnology Research Group at WA's Murdoch University, said the decision was "far sighted and necessary". He said he expected the other states' moratoria to "topple like dominoes over the next few years".

"In five or ten years time we will all be wondering what all the fuss was about, since the majority of the world's staple crops are likely to be GM," he said.

"Australian farmers are already 10 years behind their competitors in North and South America, with India and China also rapidly expanding their area of GM crops.

"GM technologies will help to solve major issues confronting the world ... we must produce more food from less land in a sustainable way, reduce pressure to crop marginal lands to maintain biodiversity for future generations, meet the additional demands to produce biofuels from plants as availability of fossil fuels decline, and be able to anticipate and respond rapidly to climate change.

Retired professor Adrian Gibbs, a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, said he was in favour of any technology used to increase the value of farms provided it's done safely.

"What's required is proper testing done in Australia by Australian scientists and done by people who don't have a conflict of interest, who aren't going to be making money out of it," he said.

"There are repeated claims that GM canola will out-yield non GM canola but there's no published Australian research that proves that.

"We also need to have safety checks. The claim is that it is perfectly safe but again there are very few tests done and these have been very short term, and the food made from these crops are not labelled. We have lots of good scientists in Australia - we need to be doing good science."

A joint statement has been issued by a group of agricultural scientists supporting the NSW and Victorian move.

The statement, signed by Rick Roush, David Tribe and Rob Norton of Melbourne University, Jim Pratley of Charles Sturt, Stephen Powles of UWA, and Christopher Preston and Mark Tester of the University of Adelaide, said agricultural scientists across Australia "enthusiastically support lifting of the four year moratorium on GM canola by the New South Wales and Victorian governments and look forward to other states following in the near future".