2002, Volume 5, Paper 51-3
ISSN: 2209-6612

Submission to the Western Australian Government

Introduction

The Life Sciences Network acknowledges the Western Australian Government has declared it

• will take a cautious approach to the introduction of GM crop varieties into farming systems, but
• considers the utilisation of GM crops may be a critical element in the future competitiveness of the agricultural sector.

The Network notes the Government supports the recognition of designated areas as described in Section 21 of the Commonwealth Gene Technology Act 2000, and has introduced Complementary State legislation to enable GM-Free and/or GM zones to be established.

In relation to any such designated GM-Free and GM areas, only areas designated for preserving product identity for marketing purposes can be recognised. Under the Act, the Gene Technology Regulator is already empowered to address issues of human health and safety as well as environmental risks in relation to any request for a licence to deal with GMOs.

As such, the Western Australian Government’s Discussion Paper is only about recognising designated GM-Free or GM areas relating to ‘crops’, not to other organisms which may or may not be genetically modified.

The Life Sciences Network notes the Western Australian Government’s commitment to obtain the views of a wide range of stakeholders on core issues including:

• the potential costs and benefits of GM-free zones;
• the form GM-free and/or GM zones might take and how they might be determined, implemented and managed; and
• other industry or government initiatives that might assist in cost-effective production of non-genetically modified products.

The Life Sciences Network has also identified three key areas which arise from the Government’s Discussion paper which require further investigation. These are:

• The term GM-Free Zone may be misleading in the context set out above and therefore should be changed to GM-Free Crop Zone
• In relation to GM-Free Crop Zones, the issues of co-existence, buffer zones and cross pollination must be discussed
• Government liability in the event of an inadvertent breach of the integrity of a GM-Free Crop Zone

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