Sydney, Australia
August 6, 2007
From:
USDA/FAS GAIN report AS7042
The New South Wales (NSW)
government has followed the lead of other states in appointing a
panel to review its moratorium on commercial plantings of
genetically modified food crops.
The review will explore issues
directly associated with trade and market access resulting from
the potential production of commercially grown GM food crops in
NSW. It follows the appointment of similar inquiries in the
other southern states, and comes ahead of the expiry of the
moratoria in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western
Australia over the next 12 months. The NSW Gene Technology Act
2003 (GM Crop Moratorium) expires in March 2008. NSW Primary
Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, says the State Government is
keen to canvass "all the possible options and stakeholder
opinions before making a decision on the future of GM crops".
Despite the review process, the
Grains Council of Australia says the commercialization of GM
canola should proceed without delay as soon as the moratoria
expire. GCA chairman, Murray Jones, said the moratoria had
provided sufficient time to determine the protocols, food safety
assurances and co-existence practices that industry would put
into practice once the bans were lifted. "Our industry is ready
to plant and manage co-existence with GM canola," Mr Jones said.
"Our competitors around the world are way ahead of us in
developing and selling GM canola into our traditional markets."
(Source:
news.com.au July 16, 2007) |
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