GOVT'S POLICY ON GM TOLERANCE CHASES RAINBOWS
September 18, 2003
Media Release
The Labour Government's policy of zero tolerance for adventitious presence
of GM was exposed for the fraudulent sham it is at the Local Government &
Environment Select Committee, ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader Ken Shirley said
today.
"In response to my questions during a video conference, Syngenta's global
head of biotechnology and seed regulatory affairs Dr Willie de Greef
confirmed from Switzerland that the New Zealand Government's policy of zero
tolerance is `impracticable and unobtainable'," Mr Shirley said.
"Dr de Greef advised that such a policy precludes all experimental work,
routine bio safety monitoring and any new technology research. Furthermore,
an absolute zero tolerance threshold cannot be guaranteed or monitored in a
practical sense, as every seed would need to be tested to destruction. Put
simply, zero tolerance does not exist in biological systems.
"For perverse political reasons, the Labour Government persists with its
pretence.
"I call on the Government to review their nonsensical policy which makes New
Zealand a laughing stock of the global scientific community.
"It is clear that while Prime Minister Helen Clark is calling the inquiry a
`circus' and a `farce', it is her Government's policy that is the circus,
and she is the ringmaster," Mr Shirley said.