The latest victim of poor governance in NSW is the state’s clean, green agricultural reputation. It is now legal to grow commercial quantities of genetically modified canola in NSW.
“The biotech companies will be the only winners from today as the GM horse bolts out of Parliament House,” said Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.
“The Canadian experience demonstrates that Bayer and Monsanto will rake in over 90% of the profits from the introduction of GM canola by selling their herbicides and from collecting maximum royalties and crop technology licence fees.
“On top of that, I have legal advice which warns that biotech companies will still be able to sue NSW farmers for patent infringement despite the so-called ‘legal liability’ protections negotiated by the Coalition at the end of last year.
“Our advice is that the Gene Technology (GM Crop Moratorium) Amendment Act 2007 will not protect NSW farmers against patent infringement actions that may be pursued by biotech companies.
“Whilst the amendments will provide some cover for farmers in NSW courts, it will provide none against the Patents Act which is enforceable through the Federal Court.
“There has been a war of ideas going on over GM food crops and as with any war, the first casualty is truth. Ian Macdonald told the Upper House on the 28th November last year that ‘Australia is, in fact, not achieving price premiums for bulk non-GM canola in the international marketplace’.
“On the 8th of February this year as South Australia extended their moratorium, Mike Rann quoted ABARE as indicating ‘that in some of this season’s markets there were significant premiums for GM-free canola’.
“NSW Agriculture Minister Macdonald will now find out who’s right or wrong by turning this state into a genetic experiment and then seeing how the markets respond”, said Mr Cohen.
Further Information: Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466 or Nic Clyde on 0417 742 754
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