Pink bras hold up Parliament in GE protest

Stunning hot pink bras held up Parliament today, as blouses were whipped off in a colourful and rowdy protest against genetic engineering (GE).

Desert-dry United Future MP Gordon Copeland was asking about the apparent duality of the economy when an array of bra-clad dualities were unveiled in the public gallery above him.

"It was a dull question, so we thought it's now or never," Mothers Against Genetic Engineering (MAdGE) protester Maike Nevill said.

MPs looked shocked as blouses were flung off to reveal GE Free banners, and more.

Chants of "mums say no to GMOs" echoed around the chamber, as ushers and security guards rushed to quell the protests.

The Auckland-based group left the gallery without being forced.

Matching pink to the fore, they marched down the stairs, through the foyer, and out the front door of Parliament, chanting the whole way.

MAdGE co-founder Hillary Ord said it was a protest born out of a desperation to ensure the GE moratorium is not lifted next month.

"We've lobbied, we've lobbied our supermarkets, we've lobbied our food producers, we've taken it to the High Court," she said.

"This is the result of absolute frustration.

"We are desperate women. I think if this moratorium gets lifted I don't know what else we can do, we've done our best.

"For the last 18 months we have been lobbying to put an end to this, it's just madness - 68 per cent of the population do not want GE.

"Our children have no rights any more. We need food that they can eat that is clean and good, and an environment that is appropriate to live in."

Even the protest was tailored more to children than to perfect political timing.

"It just fitted in with childcare - we could all find babysitters today," Ms Ord said.

Hot pink is the colour of the MAdGE logo - a square containing a safety pin.

"It's a lovely girlie colour isn't it? Why the bras? Well, they look good, and pink's our colour.

"We couldn't carry our banners in so we had to hide them."

Ms Ord did not expect charges to be laid.

Police today charged National MP Shane Ardern for last week driving a tractor up the steps of Parliament to protest against the proposed flatulence tax.

"We complied immediately upon the request to leave," Ms Ord said.

"We just want to make our point clear, and I think we were quite entertaining in there.

"Certainly it stopped (the politicians) fighting among themselves for a second."

Ms Nevill said "no one is listening" to anti-GE campaigns.

"There's not many avenues left to us other than to be completely outrageous."

MAdGE has an anti-GE march planned for October 11, less than three weeks before the moratorium is to lift.

New Zealand could "absolutely" expect more stunts, Ms Nevill said.

She had no complaints about they way the group was treated by security, though some had been "manhandled" and others had their names taken.

Parliament security and operations manager Andrew Standish said he was preparing a report to Speaker Jonathan Hunt.

In July, the High Court at Auckland rejected MAdGE claim the Environment Minister should have stopped an AgResearch application to insert human, rat, mouse and deer genes into cows, in research into GE milk products.

- NZPA