6 August 2013 Media Release:

Local Communities want stricter GE controls

Rally for Democracy – the People of Nelson are planning to rally next Saturday 10 August to tell the National Government that we want our democracy back.

For immediate release from beautiful Nelson, the first New Zealand city to be declared Genetic Engineering (GE) Free, by the Nelson City Council in 2001.

Nelson and Tasman communities want their councils to be able to set their own rules for stricter controls on the outdoor use of Genetically Modified organisms (GMOs) in the Nelson Tasman region, and want the National government to respect local democratic processes.

Local ratepayers are wary of EPA approved GE field trials in this region, having had to bear a large part of the enormous costs of cleaning up the agricultural chemical contaminated site at Mapua. Local councils have a responsibility to ratepayers to minimize risks of future contamination costs from the outdoor use of GMOs in our region.

“We are pleased to see that the President of Local Government, Lawrence Yule, recognizes that some councils have taken steps to create an additional tier of protection against the risks of outdoor use of GMOs because their ratepayers want a more precautionary approach than central government requires,” said The People of Nelson spokesman Seager Mason.

"Nelson City was the first council in NZ to achieve the distinction of being a symbolic GE free Zone, and our council is maintaining a watching brief on the good work of other councils to create enforceable Regional Exclusion Zones for all outdoor use of GMOs.

We want Nelson City to strengthen its existing valuable GE free status- we object to threats by Amy Adams, current Minister of the Environment, to undermine local council autonomy and jurisdiction for controlling GMOs."

"We commend our local MP Nick Smith, the former Minister for the Environment, who provided written clarification in August 2010 for local councils, confirming that local authorities can regulate or prevent the outdoor use of GMOs, using the RMA."*

"We ask Nick Smith to take a stand, in support of local councils jurisdiction and autonomy."

The work undertaken by local councils on behalf of their farmers and other ratepayers is necessary given serious deficiencies in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act, including a lack of strict liability and no mandatory requirement for the EPA to take a precautionary approach to GE experiments and releases.

Councils in Nelson, Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and Hawke's Bay have responded wisely to on-going concerns about GMOs by their constituents, by investigating the risks posed by GMOs in the environment, and how they can best minimize these risks.

Amy Adams’ recent remarks completely contradict Nick Smith’s letter of August 2010 which states - "Decisions on whether to approve a GMO are best undertaken by the independent, quasi-judicial body,the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA). However, this does not preclude a council from restricting or preventing the use of GMOs in their region, provided that this action meets the relevant requirements of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)."

”Ms Adams is buying a fight with communities and growers by saying she will block councils from banning GE crops. It is of concern that the Minister Amy Adams has made a number of factually incorrect statements, and is acting in defiance of public opinion, going against the advice of the previous minister and common sense,” said Seager Mason.

The People of Nelson and Nelson GE Free Aware supports our local councils who back local democracy and the rights of non GM farmers. Ratepayers and taxpayers want stricter controls on outdoor use of GMOs than those set by central government.

The controls that councils are putting in place would place the responsibility, accountability, and liability on the person or company growing the crops, which is where it should be.

The challenge for councils now is to defend the public interest, our biosecurity, environment, primary producers and economy- and place methods, policies and rules controlling or banning GMOs in local plans.

The People of Nelson and GE Aware Nelson applaud the commitment of Nelson City to its GE free Zone status, as central government continues to ignore the concerns of many eminent scientists, territorial authorities and our key markets, as well as the majority of New Zealanders.

ENDS

*To view the 2010 correspondence between Dr. Nick Smith and the Northland/ Auckland INTER COUNCIL WORKING PARTY ON GMO RISK EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS see “GMO Reports” www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Pages/default.aspx#Expand

June 2010 letter to Minister for the Environment from the Northland/ Auckland ICWP on GMOs www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Documents/GE-Reports/Letter-to-Minister-re-GMO-Survey.pdf

Hon Nick Smith Minister for the Environment's 5 August 2010 Response www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Documents/GE-Reports/Ministers-response-to-GMO-survey-letter.pdf

Analysis of Minister's 5 August 2013 response www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Documents/GE-Reports/Minister-reply-June2010.pdf by Dr. Kerry Grundy, Convenor of the Northland/ Auckland "Inter Council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation & Management Options"

Further background information:

-Mr Yule, Mayor of Hastings District Council, said his council wants a 10-year moratorium on GE to give Hawke's Bay food and wine an advantage in export markets.

Communities want 'stricter' GE controls 28 June 2013 Radio NZ interview

www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/138819/communities-want-%27stricter%27-ge-controls

-members of the Northland /Auckland “ICWP on GMOs” include Whangarei, Kaipara, Far North District Councils, Northland Regional Council and Auckland Council www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Pages/default.aspx#Expand>

- The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Genetic Modification 2001 recommendation 13.1 stated that the methodology for implementing the Hazardous substances and New Organisms Act should ‘ Allow for specified categories of GM crops to be excluded from districts where their presence would be a significant threat to a established non GMO crop use.’

-Community Management of GMO’s III
www.wdc.govt.nz/PlansPoliciesandBylaws/Plans/Genetic-Engineering/Documents/GE-Reports/Community-Management-of-GMOs-III.pdf

Further background:

NZ Herald 24 June 2013 ""Stricter rules for GMOs - working party"

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10892481

NZ Herald 26 June 2013 “Adams to block councils from own rules” www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10892985

GE FREE NZ Press Release 27 June 2013
http://press.gefree.org.nz/press/20130627.htm

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