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Clark Sells Out Science to Stone Age

"Cowards!" That was the reaction today from Libertarianz party leader Peter Cresswell to what he calls the "cowardly response" of Helen Clark's government to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification.

As Marian Hobbs said in the House today, there are already more controls on genetic modification in this country than anywhere else in the world. Clark's government will keep them there, and extend those controls even further. Thus, says Cresswell "producers, scientists and researchers are to be strangled in red tape and their research suffocated," because of what he calls "Labour's unprincipled sell-out to the advocates of voodoo and witchdoctory."

Cresswell argues that Helen Clark should have clearly and flatly refused to negotiate with "the representatives of the stone age in the persons of the Greens and her Maori caucus"; she should have declared that the Royal Commission has answered "in triplicate" their objections, and she should have announced that she herself upholds the right of researchers to continue their research unimpeded by the protests of "the sandalled vandals and the eco-terrorists."

But she didn't. Cresswell says "it is clear that she herself does not believe the witchdoctors, but she has shown she lacks the courage to stare them down." He says that like all such compromises, Clark's compromise has now delivered the witchdoctors an undeserved victory - "the sacrifice of scientific research and researchers."

"The rights of producers, scientists, researchers have been sacrificed to the stone age," says Cresswell. "Clark - who only recently claimed to be a representative of the 'battle for civilisation' - should be ashamed of herself"

It's enough to make you vote Libertarianz!

ENDS

For more information contact:

Peter Cresswell LIBERTARIANZ LEADER, & SPOKESMAN FOR DEREGULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT (09) 631 0034, organon@ihug.co.nz

www.libertarianz.org.nz

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