Submission are needed in response to the Kaipara District Council Proposed District Plan out for public consultation, urging KDC to reinstate the valuable precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies, rules (that were previously in the KDC draft District Plan and which received overwhelming support from submittors two years ago). Deadline for submissions: next Monday, 5pm, 30 June 2025
Key points below for easy submission writing (you need to provide your full contact details, that you are submitting to the KDC Proposed District Plan, and whether you wish to be heard or not). BASIC INFO: the KDC email address to use for lodging submissions to the KDC Proposed District Plan is: districtplanreview@kaipara.govt.nz.
Email: districtplanreview@kaipara.govt.nz
Online: (if you make a submission online, please keep a copy of your submission!)
https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/kaipara-district-plan-review/make-a-submisson
By Hand: to either the Kaipara District Council office Dargaville (32 Hokianga Road) or the KDC Mangawhai Office (9 Molesworth Drive)
Submission to: Kaipara District Council Proposed District Plan
KDC
Name of submittor:
Contact details:
I/we wish /do not wish to be heard
Key points you may like to make in your submission:
-KDC should ensure that the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies, and rules (in alignment with what WDC, NRC, FNDC and Auckland Council have already achieved in their operative Plans) that were previously in the KDC draft District Plan (ie. the same wording) are reinstated in the Proposed District Plan
-KDC should act on its obligations as a formative member of the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation & Management Options" irrespective of any controversial proposals for legislative change (that may or may not occur).
-KDC should ensure that the Proposed District Plan has precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies and rules (the same wording as what was in the KDC draft District Plan) in order to protect the District (and wider Regions) biosecurity, wider environment, economy, valuable "Northland, naturally" brand, existing GM Free farmers/ primary producers, our food sovereignty, and the ability of Kaipara residents to grow and eat clean and safe, nourishing, GM free food.
-KDC should act in keeping with case law, the findings of the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs (of which KDC was a formative member), the wishes of local ratepayers and residents who do not want to have risky outdoor GE/GMO experiments, field trials, or releases in the Kaipara. It is not enough for council to rely on a national regulator- council should ensure that local protections against the risks of outdoor GE/GMOs are in place, including the requirement for bonds/ strict liability to ensure that polluters are accountable for unintended/unforseen adverse impacts of EPA approved outdoor GE/GMO experiments or field trials.
-Outdoor GE/GMOs do not respect boundaries- GE contamination spreads through all the known vectors of pollen, seeds, wind, soils, waterways, machinery, animals, insects, extreme weather events (including but not limited to floods), and human error. Farmers /landowners and their valuable enterprises need protection.
-KDC should respect and support the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO policies of various Tai Tokerau Iwi for their respective rohe
Relief sought: Include/ reinstate the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions into the Kaipara Proposed District plan consistent with the wording contained in the KDC draft District Plan (September 2022 Exposure Draft document), the findings of the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs, and the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS) direction on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Given the direction in the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS), concerns of tangata whenua, existing case law, and consistency with adjoining district plans it is considered appropriate to reference and control these matters in the Kaipara District plan (as it already is in the operative Whangarei District Plan and operative Far North District Plan).
Please ask to be heard (even if you decide not to later) as it gives your submission even more weight. Please note if you were an original submittor to the KDC draft District Plan previously supporting the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions, policies and rules written and supported by KDC.
Thank you!
If you require assistance:
Please ring Martin Robinson, Kerikeri farmer, NRC councillor and spokesperson GE Free Northland if you have any further questions or need help.
Marty mobile: 027 347 8048 09 407 8650
Relief sought: Include precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions in the Kaipara District plan consistent with the wording contained in the KDC draft District Plan (September 2022 document), the findings of the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs, and the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS) direction on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Given the direction in the Northland Regional Policy Statement (RPS), concerns of tangata whenua, existing case law, and consistency with adjoining district plans it is considered appropriate to reference and control these matters in the Kaipara District plan (as it already is in the operative Whangarei District Plan and operative Far North District Plan).
(petition of Lisa Er)
Halt the Gene Technology Bill and set up a Commission of Inquiry
A petition has been launched from the Parliamentary website by Lisa Er of Lisa's hummus.
Her delicious hummus was one of the first the products to have a GE Free label.
Everyone welcome to be there (in Wellington) for the presentation (along with various MP's including Dr. Deborah Russell of Labour)
Please click on the link and sign the petition:
https://petitions.parliament.nz/b64831bc-b0b2-4518-a62d-08dd708a9825
If you would like a hard copy of the petition, please email: linda.grammer@gmail.com for the document. Thanks!
Link to our article:
https://web.gefreenorthland.org.nz/press-releases/its-time-for-action-every-voice-counts
Link to the most important document you will ever read:
Posted on Feb 14, 2025
https://www.guardianonline.co.nz/news/gene-tech-bill-a-slap-in-the-face-to-farmers-experts/
Mt Somers farmer Duncan Humm said the bill is a “slap in the face - to farmers, agronomists and experts.”
“We’ve got to think of what New Zealand has achieved while other countries have gone down that [gene editing] road.
“We are the best of the best in a lot of areas, and we haven’t had to use that tech.”
The NZ Farming content curator said farmers cannot afford to experiment with their income and livelihood.
“There’s no hardcore evidence to suggest anything is practical or feasible with this technology.
“So it seems like one hell of a gamble on something that’s completely unproven.
“Agriculture in New Zealand is worth something like $56 billion in exports, so why would you gamble all of that on something that might not work?”
According to an independent study by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), New Zealand’s primary sector exports could be reduced by $10 - $20 billion annually, if GMOs were to be released into the environment.
The report was commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) to evaluate the cost of proposed regulatory changes governing gene technology.
OANZ says that the costs, as well as supposed benefits of deregulating gene technology, need to be carefully considered.
The NZIER study authors note that the proposed changes to the regulations as outlined by Wellington bureaucrats at the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE),
do not include a Regulatory Impact Statement, economic assessment, cost-benefit analysis or address the practicality of "co-existence" of GE and non GE crops..given the known vectors for GMO contamination (seeds, pollen, vegetative material, soils, waterways, machinery, animals, insects, extreme weather events).
The report was commissioned by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) to evaluate the cost of proposed regulatory changes governing gene technology.
OANZ says that the costs, as well as supposed benefits of deregulating gene technology, need to be carefully considered.
Media Statement: "NZ exports risk multi-billion dollar hit if GMO rules deregulated"
Gene shift could cost exporters billions: report
"Researchers flag lack of research from MBIE on financial impact of opening doors to gene editing."
https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/technology/gene-shift-could-cost-exporters-billions-report/
"Let's cut the crap on gene technology"
by Professor Jack Heinemann
https://www.concernedfarmersnz.org/news/get-out-there-n9t2h-2c3pz-4tsby-ek7wx-e3res-nnleb
https://psgr.org.nz/component/jdownloads/send/1-root/166-gtbill-3pager
Gene tech bill “a slap in the face to farmers, experts”
https://www.guardianonline.co.nz/news/gene-tech-bill-a-slap-in-the-face-to-farmers-experts/
"The Risks of GMO Deregulation to NZ Farmers"
"There is no ban on gene technology in NZ. This misleading hyperbole is used to obscure a failure to engineer products that will have a market or social value that exceeds the cost of compliance with reasonable regulations."
- Professor Jack Heinemann, Genetics/ Molecular Biology, Canterbury University, and director- Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety
Radio NZ 2 September 2016
"Environment Minister accused of GMO beat-up"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/312414/environment-minister-accused-of-gmo-beat-up
Northern Advocate
5 September 2016