2017-01-13
The Greens are now the only party to stand up against genetically modified crops in WA, following today’s announcement that the ALP will backflip on long-held policy, Greens spokesperson on GMOs Lynn MacLaren MLC said.
Ms MacLaren said the ALP had now given up, just three months after arguing voraciously in the Parliament against the GM Crops Free Area Act Repeal Bill, on the grounds that WA should take a gatekeeper approach.
“The Greens are now the only party who remain true to their word and vow to protect non-GM farmers,” she said.
“Non-GM farmers remain the majority in WA, who want to protect their lucrative GM-free markets,
We don’t want see a repeat of what happened to farmer Steve Marsh who came close to financial ruin after his non-GM canola was contaminated in 2010.
“While it has been demonstrated in Tasmania that clean-up can be difficult, we know that this is a small price to pay for preventing the increased use of chemicals on agricultural land and which serious consequences for our environment.”