WA'S Clayton's moratorium on GM crops looks set to stand after the reviewer of WA's Genetically Modified (GM) Crops act found no need for drastic changes to the legislation.
Former WA Parliamentary Counsel Greg Calcutt, appointed to review submissions and prepare a report for Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman, recommended only minor improvements to the scheme and said another review of the Act's operation and effectiveness should be conducted if and when it has been in operation for a further five year period.
In essence, if Mr Calcutt's findings are adhered to, it means GM crops will continue to be prohibited in WA and can only be grown in designated areas for which exemptions have been granted.
The Act came into operation in 2003, and purports to "prohibit the cultivation of certain genetically modified crops in designated areas of the state and to provide for their destruction in certain cases".
The review investigated the need for the Act, its operation and effectiveness, and the orders made under the Act "prohibiting the cultivation of GM crops and granting exemptions from that prohibition".
Mr Calcutt said consideration should be given to ways of introducing more certainty, transparency, and public participation into the decision-making process relating to the granting of exemptions to allow the cultivation of GM crops.
As well, he called for more accurate information to be provided about the location of GM crops to producers who might be affected by them.
More than 400 submissions were made to the review, including several from Japanese parties opposed to GM foods.
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