Poll finds support for Government GM plan

By FRANCESCA MOLD political reporter

Two-thirds of voters support the Government's decision to move cautiously towards allowing commercial release of genetically modified products, a poll has found.

It also shows that GM will be a significant election issue.

The Herald-DigiPoll survey of 654 voters found 66.7 per cent thought GM organisms should be able to be commercially released after a detailed inquiry and under strict conditions.

Almost a quarter (23.2 per cent) of those interviewed thought GM products should be permanently banned, and 6.1 per cent went to the other extreme, saying genetic modification should be exploited as much as practical.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said the poll was an "absolute vindication" of the Government's decision to follow the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification to preserve opportunities while proceeding with caution.

"It's a vote for common sense really," she said. "I'm convinced we got it right in terms of public opinion and striking the balance between not wanting to be left behind but being very careful about how you proceed."

Green party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons agreed the poll showed most voters had a moderate view on the GM issue.

"That's good. We see our position as being the moderate one," she said. "The only thing out of the many, many uses of GE we oppose is the release into the environment and the food chain. So I guess that would mean the majority agrees with us."

The Government is preparing a law change giving the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) the ability to impose conditions - such as buffer zones between crops - on the release of GM products into the environment.

"One of the problems we've had with the Greens is that they just don't trust Erma," said Helen Clark.

"But in the end, who's going to make these decisions? It's just not good enough to say to the Government, 'put your head in the sand and say no, no, never, ever, ever'."

Ms Fitzsimons said Australian and European Union studies showed putting conditions on the release of GM products was not feasible.

"Nobody has ever shown me any conditions you can put on a release that would make any sense or that would provide any mitigating of the risks," she said.

The Herald-DigiPoll survey also confirmed speculation that genetic modification will be one of the election's most potent issues.

It found more than half of voters would be influenced by where political parties stand on GM when they cast their vote. Almost 7 per cent of those polled said they would make their decision solely on the GM issue. A further 44.6 per cent said their vote would be "influenced somewhat".

Just over 46 per cent said genetic modification would play no role in their voting.

Helen Clark said the 44.6 per cent group showed scope for National voters to switch to Labour in protest at the Greens' stand on GM.

She believed as much as 5 per cent of the vote, or a fifth of the National vote, could go Labour's way.

Ms Fitzsimons said National votes were also bleeding to the Green Party because of a desire among voters to keep New Zealand's environment GM-free.

nzherald.co.nz/ge

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