“In the wake of the developer donations scandal surrounding the Government, this is most definitely not the time to be lowering standards of accountability and transparency,” said Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.
Questions were put to Ian Macdonald in Parliament about whether or not he would take action, if it emerged that a member of his expert committee advising him on GM issues had failed to declare a direct or indirect pecuniary interest.
“Minister Macdonald twice dodged my questions yesterday and today on conflict of interest at a time when debate rages in the community about exactly who will benefit from the legalisation of GM food crops in NSW.
“It emerged last year that the head of the Victorian Government’s advisory panel on GM was – as the Sydney Morning Herald put it – ‘the founder of a business designed to reap commercial gain from biotechnology’.
“Meanwhile NGO’s inform us that based on the Canadian experience, Bayer and Monsanto could 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.
“In the context of what has already happened in Victoria, I find it extraordinary that Minister Macdonald is so contemptuous of the public’s right to know if this Government’s panel is truly independent.
“The Minister told the Parliament yesterday that even if a member of the panel had failed to disclose a pecuniary interest, that ‘it would not constitute an act that would detract from the decisions of the committee’.
“If the Minister simply read the legislation he would see that the disclosure requirements are clear.
The public has a right to know, the law requires disclosure and it is simply not acceptable for the Minister to refuse to table the expert committee's disclosures book,” said Mr Cohen.
Further Information: Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466 or Nic Clyde: 0417 742 754
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