Submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee in the matter of the Inquiry into the Gene Technology Bill 2000

Abstract

In July 1999, Deutsche Bank, a leading international investment firm, issued a report highlighting that genetically modified products are fast becoming an economic liability. By the end of 1999, more than 30 farm groups in the United States, including the American Corn Growers Association, were advising farmers not to grow genetically engineered crops. These developments call into serious question the wisdom of the "Ministerial Introduction" contained in the recently released Australian Biotechnology: A National Strategy. Indeed instead of delivering improved international "competitiveness and sustainability" for Australia, the policy decision to promote genetic modification, including of agricultural and food products, in Australia may have a profound opposite effect. More importantly for the present Inquiry, however, the concerns of Deutsche Bank and the US farm groups emphasise the growing uncertainty about the risks to human health and safety and to the environment that are attendant on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In order to address these risks in Australia, the Gene Technology Bill 2000 ('the GTB 2000') was introduced into Parliament on 22 June of this year. Unfortunately, as this submission demonstrates, in its current form the GTB 2000 is unlikely to provide effective protection against potential risks posed by GMOs and GM products for at least six paramount reasons.