HortNews
	PM Denies Report On Banning GE Field Trials

WELLINGTON 19/10/2001 - Prime Minister Helen Clark today rubbished a media report it will ban field trials of genetically-modified organisms for another two years.

Miss Clark has already signalled, however, that she is leaning towards extending the moratorium on the commercial release of genetically modified organisms.

The Government is due to give its response to the royal commission of inquiry into genetic engineering by the end of this month.

Prime Minister Helen Clark today told NZPA the royal commission advocated a precautionary approach which the Government strongly supported.

"The royal commission identified a lot of issues where more needed to be known before GE was subject to commercial release and people can expect the Government to make a decision in line with that precautionary approach."

She said the Government was committed to a knowledge economy and attached great importance to science and research.

This suggests she is considering allowing GE field trials and laboratory experiments to continue.

Miss Clark described as "false" a newspaper report today that the Government was planning a two-year freeze on GM field trials.

The newspaper said this was to appease the Greens and Labour's Maori MPs who oppose any moves to lift the moratorium on releases and field trials.

That moratorium has been extended to the end of this month while the Government considers its response to the royal commission inquiry.

Labour ministers have been meeting the Greens this week to try to reach agreement on the future of GE in New Zealand.

The Green Party wants field trials and commercial release of GE materials banned but agrees GE research in laboratories should continue to be carried out to advance science.

Today, Waiariki MP Mita Riranui told NZPA Labour's Maori MPs were taking up the genetic engineering concerns of Maori groups around the country to Miss Clark and Environment Minister Marian Hobbs.

The Maori caucus met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the issue. "We are unanimously opposed to any field trials of genetically modified organisms into the environment," Mr Riranui said today.

Some groups were "reasonably comfortable" with laboratory experiments but "not happy at all" with field trials because there were no guarantees these could be contained in an open environment.

Mr Riranui said the Maori MPs wanted the moratorium extended for at least two years and up to five years.

"Maori members of the caucus have been told that there has been a ground swell against the use of genetically modified organisms, whether it is in our food sources or as an untested 'cure', amongst many of our people."

He said there were cultural concerns among Maori about experiments that saw plant or animal genes mixed with human DNA. Maori found this "bizarre and offensive".

The runanga of Ngai Tahu had submitted a strong submission saying GE would impact socially and economically on Maori.

The royal commission recommended that commercial release of genetically modified organisms be allowed in limited circumstances.

It backed a strong government role in the technology, recommending the first application for release of a GE crop be decided by the environment minister as a political decision, rather than regulators.

Miss Clark told NZPA in September that raised the question of whether the Government should make one-off decisions about commercial releases or accept that more time was needed and extend the moratorium.