Federated farmers drop legal action around genetically modified organisms

Saturday, 26 May 2018

Federated Farmers have withdrawn legal challenges against councils with policies against Genetically Modified Organisms, which has been a hot topic in communities such as Whangerei. (file photo)

Federated Farmers are setting aside legal actions against regional councils over the regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMO), but will 'keep assessing' the issue in the future.

The stoush was over whether regional councils could decide to go GMO-free in their regional plans, despite there being a central government branch in charge of GMO regulation. In New Zealand, it is illegal to import, develop, field test or release a genetically modified organism (GMO) without approval from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said it would reassess challenging GMO policy at regional council level.

The courts have found local authorities have the right to set their own GMO policies under the Resource Management Act. Federated Farmers have made legal challenges against the resource management plans of several councils, including Auckland, Whangerei, the Far North and Hastings, which was the first council in New Zealand to become GMO-free in 2015.

National president Katie Milne confirmed Federated Farmers had pulled out of all cases they were challenging, but would 'just keep assessing it' in the future.

* Court rules all organisms to be included in councils' GE policies

* Co-existence possible between genetically modified and conventional crops

* Federated Farmers vote for farmers right to choose on GM technology**

She said it was 'not our highest priority at this point', in reference to Mycoplasma Bovis which is spreading through farms across the country, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of infected cows. The Government will on Monday decide whether it will use slaughter or management to tackle the disease going forward.

Milne said the challenges had been a 'principle thing' about the appropriateness of having both the EPA and regional councils 'double dipping' on GMO regulation, questioning whether regional councils had sufficient resources to devote to those decisions and why they should 'go through all the same things on whether it's safe to have in their district when it's already done by the government'

'If its been okayed at a central level, to say otherwise at a different level is a big imposition to put on people, and you don't know what the technology may have to offer in the future.'

Soil and Health national council member Marion Thomson said the withdrawal of legal challenges meant 'a bit of a reprieve' from a constant fight.

Thomson said there was a 'real potential for serious economic loss to regions exporting their products and attracting tourism under New Zealand's clean, green brand if GMO land use were permitted', and 'livelihoods could be lost'

'Being able to state your product is completely free of GMOs is quite a high premium on the world market.'

One of the legal challenges was against the Whangerei District Council, which prohibits the release of GMO's and has made GMO field trials a discretionary activity.

GE Free Northland chair Zelka Grammar in a statement said the withdrawal of legal challenges was a 'significant milestone in our fight to protect Northland's existing valuable GE Free status'.

It was in the interest of all New Zealand farmers and primary producers to allow councils to proceed with GMO policies, Grammar said.