How Green was Clark's volley

Less than 24 hours after announcing the election date, Prime Minister Helen Clark made the most of a captive audience of more than 20,000 yesterday when she opened the national agricultural Fieldays expo near Hamilton.

Two weeks before Labour's official campaign launch, Helen Clark took potshots at the Greens and drove home the Government's message of strong leadership and economic prosperity to a crowd of rural voters at Mystery Creek.

She said the Government had refused to turn its back on science and technology "as some have suggested we should" - a reference to potential coalition partner the Green Party.

Science and technology would improve farm productivity and "we very much look to our leading companies like Fonterra to set the benchmark".

Her speech was accompanied by an Air Force flyover and music from the Navy.

Helen Clark said the Greens had "stepped over the line" in trying to halt genetic engineering outside the laboratory.

The Green Party wants to continue the moratorium on commercial releases of engineered crops and animals until more is known of the risks.

But she said a continued moratorium was "not in the interests of the Waikato ... the Waikato is going to be driven by science".

- NZPA

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