Page 1890 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2017
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Crop yields are not dealing with global hunger and poverty, and we have seen an escalation in the use of pesticides on our food. The Greens are also concerned about the effects genetically modified organisms can have on the environment through contamination and impacts on plant biodiversity. We also believe consumers have the right to know what is in the food they are eating. That is why my federal colleagues have been calling for mandatory labelling requirements for foods containing genetically modified organisms and processes so that people can make informed choices.
Given these ongoing concerns, it is important that we retain and enhance the existing checks and balances for assessing GM techniques. As technologies evolve, it will remain even more important to ensure that all assessments of GM crops include careful consideration of the health and environmental risks that they pose. We must also be wary of industry efforts to circumvent current regulations through changing terminology. The commonwealth and ACT acts define gene technology as “any technique for the modification of genes or other genetic material”. While industry may be changing its language from GM to “new plant greening techniques” or “gene editing”, the same risks remain and the need for independent assessments of each technique remains.
There is a lot we do not fully understand about the long-term effects of genetic engineering on human health and our environment. It is essential that the federal government continues to invest in independent research and analysis of GM technologies to answer these questions before new techniques are approved and commercialised. The Greens will be supporting the amendments in this bill as they will help to retain a nationally consistent regulatory system for GM technologies. The larger issues I have raised remain part of the ongoing debate on GMOs and need to be taken into consideration during any further legislative reform around GM technology.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (10.35): I am pleased to speak also in support of the Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2017, which, as members have heard, will amend the Gene Technology Act 2003. We are living in an age of exponential scientific and technological development, and gene technology is at the forefront of a new wave of incredible advancements. According to the CSIRO, “gene technology” is the term given to a range of activities concerned with understanding gene expression, taking advantage of natural genetic variation, modifying genes and transferring genes to new hosts.
Developments in gene technology mean that scientists are now able to make very precise changes to genetic material. Amazingly, researchers can now alter a living organism so that it loses, acquires or changes a specific or an entire set of characteristics. Gene technology is already bringing about incredible innovations in agriculture and health initiatives. For example, it is changing the way we diagnose and treat disease and is being used to manufacture insulin and vaccines.
In a time when food security is becoming critically important around the world, gene technology can improve a crop’s disease resistance, enhance its nutritional value or
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