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LOCAL REGULATION OF OUTDOOR USE OF GMOs ON THE RISE IN NZ
GE FREE NZ Northland
Press Release 11 February 2014
LOCAL REGULATION OF OUTDOOR USE OF GMOs ON THE RISE IN NZ
Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Northland Regional Council and various territorial authorities in NZ are taking action on a local level to support the creation of a much needed additional tier of protection against the risks of outdoor use of GMOs.
An important Environment Court decision [1] has upheld the right of Bay of Plenty Regional Council, in its Regional Policy Statement (RPS), to include a precautionary statement on GMOs. This legal precedent will assist member councils of the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Management Options' as they progress their collaborative Plan change [2] to ban all GMO releases and make EPA approved outdoor GE experiments a Discretionary activity.
Scion, a NZ Crown Research Institute involved in risky outdoor experimentation in Rotorua with GE pine trees, opposed the precautionary GE wording in the BOPRC proposed RPS.
Given the serious risks of transgenic pollution from Scion's GE pine tree experiments (pine pollen can spread hundreds of kilometres even at moderate wind speeds [3] ) GE Free Northland became a section 274 party in support of Bay of Plenty Regional Council, joining the Soil & Health Association, GE Free NZ and a former Bay of Plenty Regional councillor.An important Environment Court decision [1] has upheld the right of Bay of Plenty Regional Council, in its Regional Policy Statement (RPS), to include a precautionary statement on GMOs. This legal precedent will assist member councils of the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Management Options' as they progress their collaborative Plan change [2] to ban all GMO releases and make EPA approved outdoor GE experiments a Discretionary activity.
Scion, a NZ Crown Research Institute involved in risky outdoor experimentation in Rotorua with GE pine trees, opposed the precautionary GE wording in the BOPRC proposed RPS.
Soil & Health, which has advocated for a GE-free New Zealand on behalf of its members and supporters for many years, took the lead role among five section 274 (interested) parties to the court case.[4]
"It is of concern that a NZ Crown Research Institute is not only using NZ taxpayer dollars for risky outdoor GE experiments, but used taxpayer money to try and shut down the community voice in Bay of Plenty. Our members concerns about Scion's GE activities have only increased after reported compliance breaches by Scion of the consent conditions for the field trial [5] ," said GE Free Northland spokesperson Martin Robinson.
"We are pleased that the decision supports the inclusion of a precautionary approach to the outdoor use of GMOs in an RMA planning document. The Court also indicated in its decision that the Council may propose more directive regulation in the future, including objectives, policies and rules.
The decision has given Councils the right to place policies and rules around GMO land use activities on their patch. Councils can now be proactive in identifying emerging issues that require a precautionary approach to protect their people, local environment, economic well being, and the public health.
"It is critical that farmers and other ratepayers all over the country are able to have a say on land-use issues in their region, especially when the livelihood and economic well being of existing non GM primary producers are under threat from the risks of new technologies like GMOs," said Mr. Robinson.
"We are pleased that the decision supports the inclusion of a precautionary approach to the outdoor use of GMOs in an RMA planning document. The Court also indicated in its decision that the Council may propose more directive regulation in the future, including objectives, policies and rules.
The decision has given Councils the right to place policies and rules around GMO land use activities on their patch. Councils can now be proactive in identifying emerging issues that require a precautionary approach to protect their people, local environment, economic well being, and the public health.
"It is critical that farmers and other ratepayers all over the country are able to have a say on land-use issues in their region, especially when the livelihood and economic well being of existing non GM primary producers are under threat from the risks of new technologies like GMOs," said Mr. Robinson.
An additional layer of regulation against outdoor use of GMOs is necessary given the failure by central government to address serious deficiencies in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act, as identified by Local Government NZ, the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Management Options" and other councils around the country.
ENDS contact:
GE Free Northland (in food & environment)
Martin Robinson 09 407 8650
Media contact: on behalf of the s274 parties
Media contact: on behalf of the s274 parties
Karen Summerhays 09 837 7311
References:
[1] Decision on ENV-2013-AKL-146 NZ Forest Research Institute Ltd (Scion) v Bay of Plenty Regional Council, 18 Dec 2013
Read the court decision at www.boprc.govt.nz/media/321876/environment-court-decision-18-dec-2013-env-2012-339-000041-part-one-section-17.pdf
www.gefree.org.nz/ge-free-court-actions/
(2) see Proposed Plan Change reports, Whangarei District Council GENETIC ENGINEERING page
www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Pages/default.aspx#Expand
Two regional councils have addressed the GE issue to date, with Northland Regional Council placing specific precautionary GE provisions in the Northland new RPS and
identifying the GE issue as an Issue of Significance for tangata whenua / Northland communities.
Far North and Whangarei District Councils are soon to follow with prescriptive local action against the release of GMOs, in conjunction with the Auckland Council "super city". These 3 councils are undertaking a collaborative plan change to ban all GMO releases and make EPA approved outdoor GE experiments a Discretionary activity
identifying the GE issue as an Issue of Significance for tangata whenua / Northland communities.
Far North and Whangarei District Councils are soon to follow with prescriptive local action against the release of GMOs, in conjunction with the Auckland Council "super city". These 3 councils are undertaking a collaborative plan change to ban all GMO releases and make EPA approved outdoor GE experiments a Discretionary activity
[3]
see
Williams, C.G. (2010) Long-distance pine pollen still germinates after meso-scale dispersal. American Journal of Botany 97 (5): 1-11. DOI: 10.3732/ajb. 0900255
An up-to-date study undertaken in India established pollen drift over 600 kilometres
Singh, G. et. al. "Pollen-Rain from Vegetation of Northwest India." New Physiologist, 72, 1993, pp. 191-206
(4) see Soil & Health Association Press Release
"Court decision empowers local body protection against GMO risks"
Monday, February 10, 2014
(5)
"Scion's own activities will be the greater risk with material being removed on mower equipment following mulching of GE tree prunings. Scion have been granted an ERMA amendment to their consent, which previously required autoclaving or incineration of cuttings or plant material. The mulching of prunings allows even more GE material to remain in the environment, and with no clean down facility on site, means GE plant material being removed to other adjacent non-GE trial sites and forestry areas."
www.nwrage.org/content/new-zealand-rotorua-ge-tree-trial-remains-environmental-threat
Further background:
historical Environment Bay of Plenty Regional Council Press Releases
"Regional council warns of possible "irreversible consequences" if GMO moratorium lifted"
1 August 2003 Press Release, Environment Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Regional Council seeks answers to "unresolved questions on genetic modification"
20 February 2003 Press Release, Environment Bay of Plenty
See also:
GE FREE NZ Press Release 10 February 2014
Backing for Local Right of Protection Against Risks of GMOs
http://press.gefree.org.nz/press/20140210.htm
www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/235780/gmo-decision-%27sets-precedent%27
Backing for Local Right of Protection Against Risks of GMOs
http://press.gefree.org.nz/press/20140210.htm
www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/235780/gmo-decision-%27sets-precedent%27
GMO decision 'sets precedent'
Updated at 7:59 am, ll February 2014
An Environment Court decision has set a precedent which will give local bodies the right to set policies on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their regions, anti-genetic engineering campaigners say.
Crown Research Institute Scion took the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to court over a reference to GMOs in its regional policy statment.
The institute, which is conducting field trials on genetically engineered pine trees near Rotorua, was seeking to prevent the regional council from advising caution when considering the use of GMOs.
But the Environment Court has allowed the council to keep the reference in its policy statement.
GE Free New Zealand spokesperson Claire Bleakley, one of the regional council's supporters in the case, says the ruling will help other local bodies and communities also seeking to limit the use of GMOs.
"Without a doubt, this ruling has mandated that councils have a right, on land use issues, to put GMOs as a significant issue of concern and to put to policies and rules around them if the community sees fit," Ms Bleakley says.
"Scion, and the Government, has also tried to say that no way could councils put this in because it was a central government issue. The Environment Court decision has shown that it is also a community decision and, where it is appropriate, communities can call their councils to put rules and policies around it."
The Environment Court decision stands because the appeal period has lapsed, she says.
ENDS
www.radionz.co.nz/news/rural/235780/gmo-decision-%27sets-precedent%27
GMO decision 'sets precedent'
Updated at 7:59 am, ll February 2014 Radio NZ
An Environment Court decision has set a precedent which will give local bodies the right to set policies on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their regions, anti-genetic engineering campaigners say.
Crown Research Institute Scion took the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to court over a reference to GMOs in its regional policy statment.
The institute, which is conducting field trials on genetically engineered pine trees near Rotorua, was seeking to prevent the regional council from advising caution when considering the use of GMOs.
But the Environment Court has allowed the council to keep the reference in its policy statement.
GE Free New Zealand spokesperson Claire Bleakley, one of the regional council's supporters in the case, says the ruling will help other local bodies and communities also seeking to limit the use of GMOs.
"Without a doubt, this ruling has mandated that councils have a right, on land use issues, to put GMOs as a significant issue of concern and to put to policies and rules around them if the community sees fit," Ms Bleakley says.
"Scion, and the Government, has also tried to say that no way could councils put this in because it was a central government issue. The Environment Court decision has shown that it is also a community decision and, where it is appropriate, communities can call their councils to put rules and policies around it."
The Environment Court decision stands because the appeal period has lapsed, she says.
ENDS
"The Greens Welcome Bay of Plenty GE win"
Monday, 10 Feb 2014 | Press Release
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