❓ A parliamentary question regarding the contamination of an organic farm with GM canola, seeking government responsibility and details of communication with Monsanto. The government denies responsibility but confirms communication.
AnsweredQoN 4682Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the contamination of Mr Steve Marsh’s Kojanup organic farm with genetically modified (GM) canola, and I ask:
(a) will the Government accept any responsibility for this contamination issue;
(b) has the Minister’s office had any communication with representatives from Monsanto regarding the contamination to Mr Marsh’s farm;
(c) has the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) had any communication with representatives from Monsanto regarding the contamination to Mr Marsh’s farm; and
(d) if yes to (b) and/or (c), will the Minister advise in what form this communication was and what the content was?
(a) will the Government accept any responsibility for this contamination issue;
(b) has the Minister’s office had any communication with representatives from Monsanto regarding the contamination to Mr Marsh’s farm;
(c) has the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) had any communication with representatives from Monsanto regarding the contamination to Mr Marsh’s farm; and
(d) if yes to (b) and/or (c), will the Minister advise in what form this communication was and what the content was?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 March 2011
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
19 days
(a) No
(b) Yes
(c) Yes
(d) A representative of Monsanto telephoned the Minister's office and informed a policy advisor of Monsanto's position on the issue. Following the recent crop updates forum in Perth the Minister met representatives of Monsanto to discuss the information they presented at the forum and the Kojonup issue was mentioned briefly, with Monsanto advising they would not be providing financial support to any legal action and they understood no legal action had been taken to date. The Minister informed Monsanto the Department of Agriculture and Food was offering technical advice to Mr Marsh but the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia had made their re-certification requirements confidential, which meant the department was unable to assist at this time.
The Department of Agriculture and Food made telephone calls to inform Monsanto that officers of the Department were going to visit Mr Marsh's property and take samples of plant material for analysis, and to clarify the content of Monsanto representatives' media statements.
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(b) Yes
(c) Yes
(d) A representative of Monsanto telephoned the Minister's office and informed a policy advisor of Monsanto's position on the issue. Following the recent crop updates forum in Perth the Minister met representatives of Monsanto to discuss the information they presented at the forum and the Kojonup issue was mentioned briefly, with Monsanto advising they would not be providing financial support to any legal action and they understood no legal action had been taken to date. The Minister informed Monsanto the Department of Agriculture and Food was offering technical advice to Mr Marsh but the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia had made their re-certification requirements confidential, which meant the department was unable to assist at this time.
The Department of Agriculture and Food made telephone calls to inform Monsanto that officers of the Department were going to visit Mr Marsh's property and take samples of plant material for analysis, and to clarify the content of Monsanto representatives' media statements.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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