Update: important GE/GMO decision made 16 June 2020 Northland Regional Council's full council meeting - excellent decision made!

Posted Mon, 15/06/2020 - 13:13
Breaking news:

There was an important GE/GMO agenda item at the Northland Regional Council full council meeting (Tuesday 16 June 2020)

An excellent motion was passed, supporting precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions in the proposed new Regional Plan (in the Coastal Marine Area). Well done NRC!

An email to the NRC chair Penny Smart and Clrs Joce Yeoman, Jack Craw, Martin Robinson, Colin Toss Kitchen, Amy McDonald, Justin Blaikie thanking them for their vote would be very timely.

Contact details for all NRC clrs here (NRC Clrs Rick Stolwerk and John Bain voted for the status quo, which is disappointing. but they were in the minority :)

Background:

The NRC's Ben Lee has recommended that this Northland Regional Council continue fighting against 100+ submittors (who submitted two years ago on the important GE/GMOs issue to the NRC proposed new Regional Plan for Northland).
The submittors (including appellants Whangarei District Council and Far North District Council and parties GE Free Tai Tokerau, Soil & Health Association, many Tai Tokerau mana whenua, various Northland primary producers, Auckland GE Free Coalition) want precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions in the new Regional Plan for Northland (at the very least in the Coastal Marine Area) and are gravely concerned by the previous NRC's controversial and flawed 18 July 2019 decision to EXCLUDE all precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions from the proposed new Regional Plan for Northland.

All parties strongly support the WDC/FDNC excellent joint appeal against Northland Regional Council (lodged in the Environment Court).

We are pleased that the majority of NRC clrs voted today Tuesday 16 June 2020 to change NRC's position (from the controversial/ flawed 18 July 2019 former NRC council decision to exclude all precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions from the proposed new Regional Plan for Northland) and agree with the appeal parties to include precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions in the proposed new Regional plan. As Mr. Lee noted in his agenda item 6.5. "there are no legal impediments".

 Please note the excellent news that the only 3 organisations who supported the NRC's controversial 18  July 2019 GE/GMO decision (the NZ "life" Sciences Network, Biotech NZ and Federated Farmers) have all recently formally withdrawn their interest in the WDC/FNDC appeal against NRC. NZLSN and Biotech NZ were not submittors and only joined as interested parties at the 11th hour.

 


This NRC council wisely changed the previous NRC position on GE/GMOs and has now taken action in accordance with the requirements of the operative Regional Policy Statement (RPS) for Northland (it has precautionary GE/GMO policy provisions and specific wording detailing the fact that the GE/GMO issue is an Issue of Significance/ concern to Maori and an issue of concern concern for Northland tangata whenua).

 


Thank you.
Together we are stronger

 

Nga mihi
Zelka Linda Grammer
chair GE Free Northland

Further background:

NRC councillors  changed the NRC controversial/ flawed decision of 19 July 2019 and agree with all the appeal parties to include precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions in the proposed new Regional Plan for Northland

 We support the excellent appeal by Whangarei and Far North District Council against the former NRC council's controversial 18 July 2019 decision to exclude all precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO provisions from the proposed new Regional Plan for Tai Tokerau.


 In our view, NRC did well, deciding to not waste any more ratepayers money opposing the proposed important precautionary and prohibitive GMO provisions in the Northland Regional Plan. Too much money has already been wasted by NRC to no effect and in opposition to what the majority of Northland primary producers and other ratepayers and mana whenua (and the Northland District Councils) want. 

 

The best use of ratepayer money (NRC) is to support other Northland local authorities including WDC and FNDC (appellants) and Auckland Council and insert complementary GMO provisions in the regional plan that provides a unified regulatory regime across Northland and Auckland.

This would be in keeping with the stated aims of the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation & Management Options" (of which NRC has been a full member since its inception in 2003). NRC could achieve the complimentary precautionary and prohibitive GMO provisions at little to no cost as all the relevant parties have already agreed upon appropriate provisions and opposing parties have withdrawn their interest.  


A decision to insert these sensible precautionary and prohibitive GMO provisions will cost no more than staff time carrying out the required process. The alternative course of action of opposing these provisions would cost hundreds of thousands of ratepayer dollars with a relatively low, or at least uncertain, chance of success.


In our view, the NRC should also show respect for the precautionary and prohibitive GE/GMO policies of Tai Tokerau Iwi and hapu, and act in keeping with the requirements of the operative Regional Policy Statement (RPS) for Northland.


We are aware that the NRC is a full member of the Northland/ Auckland INTER COUNCIL WORKING PARTY ON GMO RISK EVALUATION & MANAGEMENT OPTIONS* since its inception in 2003- the NRC should act on its duty of care and pull it's weight in working in a fiscally responsible manner with all the other member councils to protect our region and Auckland regions biosecurity, unique biodiversity,  wider environment existing GM free primary producers, economy, growing organic sector, Hua Parakore organic standard, our food sovereignty, heritage seeds, cultural values, and our "Northland, naturally" brand from the risks of outdoor use of GE/GMOs.


GMOs (genetically modified organisms) include controversial and risky new genetic techniques like CRISPR/ gene editing, which has now been shown to be imprecise and have numerous undesirable off target effects.


*http://www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Pages/default.aspx