Battle over GMOs moves to court

GE Free Northland spokesman Martin Robinson.

The latest battle in the fight to ban genetically modified organisms in Northland will be staged in a Whangarei court tomorrow between Federated Farmers of New Zealand and Northland Regional Council.

The case in the Environment Court will see Federated Farmers challenge whether the regional council has jurisdiction under the Resource Management Act (RMA) to ban the outdoor use of GMO matter.

Federated Farmers lodged an appeal opposing the precautionary GMO provisions in the Northland Regional Policy Statement, which is the over-arching policy document for resource management in Northland for the next 10 years.

Also in court on the opposite side to Federated Farmers, Whangarei District Council will be backing the NRC's regional plan and fighting for local authorities' right to include precautions in their plans.

GE Free Northland spokesman Martin Robinson said the case had national significance.

"In our view, a strong precautionary approach to GMOs - or even better, outright prohibition - is desirable to prevent potentially enormous costs falling on ratepayers from damage or unforeseen adverse effects from GE experiments or release of GE organisms," he said.

Northland Regional Council placed precautionary provisions in the Regional Policy Statement after identifying GMOs as a significant issue for Northland ratepayers.

Councils, iwi and other concerned groups have voiced concern about gaps in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act, including a lack of liability if there were unintended or unforseen adverse impacts from GMOs in farming and other industries.

"We support the right of local bodies to manage any potential use of GMOs in their area, using the RMA.

"We applaud the efforts of various New Zealand councils to put in place a much-needed additional tier of local protection against the risks of outdoor use of GMOs."

Mr Robinson said potential accidental damage could include transgenic contamination of soil and waterways, the emergence of herbicide resistant super weeds, and contamination of existing GE-free primary producers.

There was also potential for economic loss to regions marketing products and tourism under New Zealand's clean, green brand.