27 November 2019
Members of the South Australian Upper House who have declared they will support the motion by Greens MLC Mark Parnell to disallow farmer access to GM crops should reconsider their position before they vote this afternoon.
South Australian Labor and SA-BEST are claiming that the government has exploited a loophole in legislation by introducing regulations which will allow GM crop cultivation on mainland South Australia.
This is not a loophole. This is an entirely appropriate adherence to the process of legislation – legislation that was introduced under a Labor government in 2004.
The regulation measure chosen by government also enforced the most extensive community consultation process, in which the majority of people supported the GM ban to be lifted on mainland South Australia.
These parties have been misled by Mark Parnell who has conveniently used a claim about incorrect parliamentary process to be the front for his anti-science, anti-GM agenda.
The community is looking for politicians to make decisions of substance, not to watch them play politics with process.
It is disappointing that petty politics are being put ahead of policy to progress South Australian agriculture and science.
Any member of the South Australian Upper House who is genuinely committed to environmental sustainability, science and farming should reject the disallowance motion and get on with the important job of delivering better solutions for the state.