NSW, Victoria to lift ban on GM canola

This story has just brought me a crashing down. So called 'experts' look at implications of GM crops yet not one of them makes a connection with GM crops and bee colonies becoming extinct.
Read on
A four-year ban on genetically modified (GM) canola crops is to be lifted in NSW, giving farmers the opportunity to grow the crop if they want.NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the changes would be made within the next month and would put NSW farmers on a level playing field with their overseas counterparts for the first time. The Victorian government is also lifting a ban on growing GM canola.
Mr Macdonald said farmers had been missing out on export opportunities to the US and Canada because of the failure to adopt GM canola. "Market conditions have changed since the Act was introduced, with GM canola now responsible for 70 per cent of the world's trade," Mr Macdonald said in a statement. "NSW farmers will now have a choice as to whether they want to grow GM canola or not, and customers will be able to decide whether or not they want to buy them. "This is all about informed choice." (NO GUYS i BEG TO DIFFER, IT ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY AT THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR PLANET)
The bill to change the legislation will also establish an expert committee that will assess whether the industry is capable of segregating GM and non-GM food crops. The decision to allow GM canola to be grown follows a comprehensive review by a Three-member panel chaired by former Nationals leader Ian Armstrong. Victorian Premier John Brumby said his government had decided not to extend a moratorium on growing GM canola, which expires on February 29. A panel headed by Sir Gustav Nossal reviewed the economic impact of removing the ban on the commercial planting of GM canola. Mr Brumby said the state government had accepted federal government approval and the findings of Sir Gustav's report. Mr Brumby said lifting the ban would make Victorian farmers more internationally competitive and deliver environmental and economic benefits to the state. "In direct terms, the review panel concluded that the economic benefit to the state over the next eight years of this decision will be something like $115 million of additional economic activity," he said. "The benefit of GM canola is that it uses far less pesticide than does traditional canola."
Some Western Australian farmers are calling on the government to review its ban on GM crops. WAFarmers president Trevor De Landgrafft said WA growers have been left behind by their overseas competitors in recent years. Now, he said, they faced the risk of falling behind their interstate colleagues with NSW and Victoria ending their Respective moratorium on GM canola. "There is no reason that the WA government should not follow the leadership demonstrated by their interstate counterparts and keep WA growers on an equal footing in relation to access to technology," Mr De Landgrafft said in a statement. On Monday, WA's Agriculture and Food Minister Kim Chance and Tasmania's Primary Industries and Water Minister David Llewellyn had jointly called on Victoria, NSW and South Australia to maintain their moratorium on the commercial production of GM crops.The South Australian government says it is considering an expert report on GM crops with a current ban due to expire in April next year.
A moratorium on GM crops, including canola, has been in place in SA since 2004.
The government has pledged to make a decision on the issue before it expires and is currently assessing a report from the Genetically Modified Crops Advisory Committee.
"We will respond to the recommendations in the report in a timely manner, well ahead of the deadline for the end of the current moratorium," acting Agriculture Minister Paul Holloway said.The Australian Democrats introduced a bill to state parliament earlier this month to extend the ban until 2013.State Democrat MP Sandra Kanck said there was growing support from consumers for SA to remain GM free."Australian governments have ignored nature's limits with climate change," Ms Kanck said.
"We can't make the same mistake with our food sources."If Australia wants to keep its clean, green image and ensure food security it must keep GM crops out."Ms Kanck said extending the moratorium until 2013 would give scientists a chance to provide some definitive answers on the benefits or dangers associated with GM foods.Tasmania is reviewing its ban on genetically modified (GM) crops and will make a decision mid-way through next year, a government spokesman says."Tasmania's position on GM crops is currently subject to a joint house parliamentary review which is due to provide advice to the government so it can review the moratorium by June 2008," the spokesman says.