❓ A parliamentary question regarding the contamination of an organic farm with GM canola, focusing on the Minister's response, buffer zone effectiveness, and the adequacy of GM canola trial checks and balances. The Minister's response defends the existing protocols and downplays the severity of the incident.
AnsweredQoN 4683Legislative 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) did the Minister have a spokesperson to handle his media commitments in the Agriculture and Food portfolio while he was on holiday; and
(i) if not, why not;
(ii) if yes, who was the spokesperson; and
(iii) if yes, why were there no comments from the spokesperson on this issue;
(b) does the Minister now have a detailed strategy in place to audit other non-GM and organic farms for GM canola contamination;
(c) does the Minister have a detailed report as to why the buffer zones did not work in the Marsh case; and
(d) given the confirmation of contamination, does the Minister now concede that all the checks and balances were not ticked off in order to have GM canola trials in Western Australia?
(a) did the Minister have a spokesperson to handle his media commitments in the Agriculture and Food portfolio while he was on holiday; and
(i) if not, why not;
(ii) if yes, who was the spokesperson; and
(iii) if yes, why were there no comments from the spokesperson on this issue;
(b) does the Minister now have a detailed strategy in place to audit other non-GM and organic farms for GM canola contamination;
(c) does the Minister have a detailed report as to why the buffer zones did not work in the Marsh case; and
(d) given the confirmation of contamination, does the Minister now concede that all the checks and balances were not ticked off in order to have GM canola trials in Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 March 2011
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
19 days
(a) Yes
(i) Not applicable
(ii) Hon. C.C. Porter was appointed Acting Minister for Agriculture and Food.
(iii) Minister Redman commented on the issue before going on leave and there was no need for Acting Minister Porter to comment further.
(b) No. This is not necessary.
(c) The buffer zones are in place to ensure effective segregation of non GM canola grain and GM canola grain. The Stephen Marsh case is not a case of loss of effective segregation but is a case of loss of certification due to the presence of GM material on Mr Marsh's property.
(d) The Stephen Marsh case is not a case of contamination of organic produce but one on unwanted presence of plant material on a portion of his property. The results of the 2009 GM canola trials program showed the WA grains industry could effectively segregate non GM canola from GM canola. CBH Group has confirmed there has been effective segregation of non GM canola from GM canola this season.
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
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(i) Not applicable
(ii) Hon. C.C. Porter was appointed Acting Minister for Agriculture and Food.
(iii) Minister Redman commented on the issue before going on leave and there was no need for Acting Minister Porter to comment further.
(b) No. This is not necessary.
(c) The buffer zones are in place to ensure effective segregation of non GM canola grain and GM canola grain. The Stephen Marsh case is not a case of loss of effective segregation but is a case of loss of certification due to the presence of GM material on Mr Marsh's property.
(d) The Stephen Marsh case is not a case of contamination of organic produce but one on unwanted presence of plant material on a portion of his property. The results of the 2009 GM canola trials program showed the WA grains industry could effectively segregate non GM canola from GM canola. CBH Group has confirmed there has been effective segregation of non GM canola from GM canola this season.
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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