SINCE the Barnett Government lifted the long-standing ban on the environmental release of genetically modified canola, it is now being grown throughout the Wheatbelt.
We have seen a certified organic farmer in Kojonup lose his certification from trespass of his neighbour’s wind-blown GM canola.
There has been a truck spill of GM canola on Albany Highway threatening the GM-free markets of a group of conventional farmers in Williams and we have seen feral GM canola plants growing along the roadside in Esperance.
Beekeepers are offered no help to prevent GM pollen contaminating our honey.
Despite the many unresolved issues with GM canola, open-air trials of GM wheat are proceeding in WA at a cost of millions of taxpayer dollars.
On October 15, voting closes for the local government elections.
Issues that are on the table include R&D, planting, transport and storage of GM seeds and harvest, effect on property values, ratepayer funding of GM surveillance and clean-up, and GM content of council-provided food services such as Meals on Wheels.
