NZ: post-election, GM hangs in the balance

The post-election future of genetic modification in New Zealand hangs in the balance with the Labour Party still to determine the structure of its government.

The Labour-led government will need to form a coalition, with United Future and the Greens jockeying for the position.

According to the chairman of the Life Sciences Network, Dr William Rolleston, the feeling was that Labour would choose to side with United Future because of its more moderate approach to the GM moratorium.

"Before and after the election the Prime Minister [Helen Clark] made it pretty clear that she would not be held to ransom by a party over a single issue," Rolleston said.

"She has also made comments that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her political career fighting over GM issues and the quicker it gets to the regulator the better. She has said that the moratorium will come off."

The Greens have vowed to pull support from Labour if it does not extend and broaden the moratorium beyond its scheduled October 2003 finish.

The party has said that any confidence and supply agreements would be void the day the moratorium was lifted.

Labour has come out in support of the Royal Commission's findings that New Zealand should proceed with caution on GM in order to preserve the nation's opportunities.

United First, for its part, says it supports an "extremely cautious approach" to GM.

In its position paper, the party states that the original government decisions following the Royal Commission were at the outer limit of acceptability.

The party says that it supports the current moratorium and that it should not be lifted until the government is satisfied that the appropriate regulatory policy is in place.

It says that if it became clear that such a policy would not be in place by October next year, the party would support an extension of the moratorium until policy work was complete.

"The industry has always wanted some certainty so that it knows how it can go ahead and plan for the future," Rolleston said.

"The moratorium is to end in 2003 and that gives industry certainty about when applications can be put forward."

He said industry would be in greater support of United Future because of its support of appropriate legislation governing GM, as opposed to the Greens who would likely stall legislation in order to extend the moratorium.

Labour has had talks with both parties this week ahead of a post-election long weekend, with Clark stating that arrangements for the coalition would be in place within two weeks.