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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5266 ..
MR CORBELL (continuing):
matter of consumer choice, and consumer choice does ultimately underpin markets and commercial decisions made by the commercial producers.
There is growing interest and increasing commercial value in identifying the regional origins of food and the agricultural technologies used to grow it. In the slow food movement there is also interest in identifying and growing very old genetic strains of vegetables and grains for their historic and cultural value.
More broadly, Mr Speaker, consumers around the world are taking an interest in whether food has been grown organically or is GM free. Region of origin labelling is becoming common for a variety of foods, not just European wine and cheese.
There is a small amount of agriculture in the ACT, including market gardens and vineyards. Presently the only GM food crop approved by the regulator for commercial release is Bayer's "Invigor"Hybrid® canola. There are no canola crops in the ACT but there are in New South Wales, north of Yass.
The New South Wales government has also issued a moratorium on commercial GM food crops. This allows a large and globally important food growing region to market its crops as coming from an area that does not have commercial GM food crops. This is of real commercial value, given the resistance that European consumers in particular have to GM food. This adds considerably to the value of our moratorium for the small number of ACT-based primary producers.
As I have indicated in the past, Mr Speaker, the application of biotechnology to genetic modification of plants and other organisms has tremendous potential for the improvement of human health, the environment and commercial agriculture. There are examples where genetic modification is being used to benefit the environment and the broader community.
The development of GM cotton to produce a toxin active against its main insect pests has led to a reduction of up to 50 per cent in the application of insecticides. There is a great deal of research directed at the development of GM plants that produce pharmaceuticals or other products with considerable advantages to human health. For example, all the insulin required for diabetics in Australia is produced by a GM micro-organism. This has resulted in a purer, safer and cheaper insulin product for diabetics. Additionally, in Tasmania genetic modification is being used to improve the value and use of the opium poppy for human medication.
So, Mr Speaker, there is potential for betterment of humankind and the environment from the application of this technology and we, as a territory, cannot afford to exclude ourselves from the scope of any achievements this may bring. However, we do have to be mindful of how these outcomes are achieved so that there is absolute minimum impact on our community.
Specifically, Mr Speaker, the government is proposing that under this bill the Minister for Health will have the power to impose an order prohibiting the cultivation in the ACT of a specified GM food plant or class of GM food plants. The minister may specifically exempt from prohibition any field trials or contained research involving GM products that have been approved by the Gene Technology Regulator.
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