Like watching a Greek a tragedy ...

Watching the NOOM Bill proceeding through Parliament has been like watching a Greek tragedy unfold, Green Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said today.

"The characters have been blindly following their predetermined paths without realising the awful destiny awaiting them.

"The audience can only watch and warn, to no avail. But the real tragedy is that the audience, in this case the New Zealand public, will be dramatically affected by the consequences when GE goes wrong."

The New Organisms and Other Matters Bill, which provides for the conditional release of GE organisms once the moratorium lifts, is due to have its third reading later today.

"In persisting with the legislative mechanisms to enable GE releases into the environment, the Government has missed the key point. The fight against GE will not be over when the moratorium lifts on October 29," Ms Fitzsimons said.

"The Green Party will continue to expose the truth about GE. We will continue to challenge the GE regulator ERMA (the Environmental Risk Management Authority) to do its job.

"We will oppose every release and bring the best scientific evidence to the hearings. We will highlight the stories of GE failures overseas."

The Greens succeeded in making the only substantial change to the NOOM Bill. ERMA now has to consider the economic costs of any application to release GE into the environment, not just the economic benefits.

"This is an important step forward, as we know from overseas experience that the economic costs of GE release can be very high," Ms Fitzsimons said.

Jeanette is due to give a speech on the NOOM Bill in the House today at 5.30pm.

ENDS

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