Communique from the NSW Agricultural Advisory Council on Gene Technology - March 2005

The New South Wales Agricultural Advisory Council on Gene Technology held its 11th meeting on March 23 in Sydney.

The Council noted the resignation of Mr Graham Barron, formerly representing GrainCorp, and welcomed Ms Cindy Mills who has replaced Mr Gerard McMullen as the AWB representative on the Council. The formal appointment of a new representative of GrainCorp is being undertaken.

Council received a presentation on GM canola from Mr David Bell, a consultant with a wide range of experience in crop protection, herbicide evaluation and testing of GM crops. Mr Bell covered a range of topics including the effectiveness of glyphosate for control of problem weeds and the potential impact this has on benefits of Roundup Ready canola, control of herbicide-tolerant volunteer plants both on and off farm, the need to exercise caution in comparing the growing of GM canola in Canada and Australia as the environments are widely divergent, and an ongoing requirement for independent trials of GM canola in Australia.

Council also received a presentation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) regarding the labelling of products as 'non-GM' or 'GM free' and how various pieces of legislation interact to ensure that the public is informed of product origins. Particular attention was paid to the recent discussions on labelling of chicken meat that may have been derived from chickens fed GM grain.

In addition to receiving the above presentations, Council continued to explore the risks and benefits of genetically modified canola with emphasis on the development of a bibliography focusing on key publications from Australia and overseas.