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NSW farmers promised legal protection over GM
19 Mar 2004
No genetically modified food crops will be planted in New South Wales until farmers are given legal protection against possible contamination, the State Agriculture Minister said yesterday. On Wednesday, the Minister's advisory council decided to recommend that NSW go ahead with an application by Monsanto and Bayer for a 3,500-hectare research trial of GM canola. Legal advice suggested that farmers who found their crops had been accidentally contaminated by GM varieties could be found guilty of breaching the manufacturers' intellectual copyright or of unlawful use of a GM product. Farming organisations said this was unacceptable.
The Minister assured NSW Parliament yesterday that he would not give the go-ahead to the council's recommendation until he was sure that farmers were protected against any potential legal action.
There's concern about who would be found legally responsible if contamination occurs. The Minister did not indicate whether the Government or the companies producing the GM seed would accept liability for the trial.
Sydney Morning Herald, 19/3/04.
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