ONE of Australia’s leading specialists on biological farming says he was dumped by the CSIRO because of his criticism of genetically modified crops. [...] He told The Sunday Age that senior CSIRO management bullied and harassed him and tried to gag his criticisms of GM crops. He left in March after his position with CSIRO’s plant industry division was made redundant.

NEW EMERGENCY powers that allow Australian authorities to fast-track the release of genetically modified organisms could pose unacceptable risks, say critics. According to a bill passed by the Senate this month, the Health Minister could hypothetically order the rapid approval of a GM vaccine to fend off a bird-flu pandemic, or a GM bacterium to ”eat” an oil spill. But critics are concerned emergency powers in the Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007 could lead to inadequately tested GM organisms being released.

The Australian Research Council has given almost $1 million to the University of Queensland (UQ) for further research into making sugarcane more productive by modifying its genes. [...] But UQ Professor Robert Birch says sugarcane has so many different genes it can mysteriously turn some off - meaning the introduced ones do not work.

United Dairyfarmers of Victoria members are being invited to discuss their views on Genetic Modification at a series of forums over the next fortnight. The forums are being held ahead of the 2007 UDV Conference on June 19, at which delegates will be asked to consider their branches’ views on the use of biotechnology in the dairy industry. The Conference will debate a motion that is on the table from the 2006 UDV conference, proposing that the UDV should support choice of GM technology in the dairy industry.

The make-up of an independent panel that will undertake a four-month review of Victoria’s ban on genetically modified (GM) crops has been announced. Scientist and former Australian of the Year, Professor Sir Gustav Nossal, will chair the panel which will make a key recommendation on whether the state’s GM moratorium should continue beyond its expiry date early next year.

THREE years ago Labor backbencher Luke Donnellan voted for a four-year ban on genetically modified crops in Victoria. Last week Mr Donnellan invited his Labor colleagues to attend a pro-GM meeting at Parliament House sponsored by the Institute of Public Affairs, an outfit not highly regarded in Labor circles. With the State Government’s ban on genetically modified canola expiring in February, supporters and opponents are beginning their lobbying campaigns. The outcome will depend on whether Labor has shifted ground on the controversial technology.

AUSTRALIA’S chief scientist has criticised opponents of genetic modification, describing them as ”unprincipled minorities” that were spreading false facts and hype. Speaking at a conference in Melbourne, Jim Peacock said those circulating misinformation about GM were largely ”self-serving organic farmers and ill-informed environmental activists”. His comments were made during a session on biotechnology and food at the Future Summit, where Victoria’s chief scientist, Sir Gustav Nossal, said he believed resistance to GM was starting to wane. ”The fear I think is gradually and slowly receding,” Sir Gustav said after the session. ”But I also think this is something that doesn’t need to be rushed.”

The Network of Concerned Farmers was outraged today at news that the Victorian State Government plans to lift the moratorium on genetically modified crops. The key issue of concern for the NCF is the unfair costs and liabilities that will be imposed on non-GM farmers due to the problems associated with segregating GM from non-GM crops in order to supply markets that are GM sensitive. [...] ”The beneficiaries of GM crops are the patent holders, the GM companies, the seed industry, the research sector and the governments who are encouraging corporate investment into research and development and planning to cash in on the technology patents they currently own,” explained Mrs Newman. ”If politicians want Australian farmers to follow in the footsteps of US and Canadian farmers who have faced additional costs, intimidating contracts and plummeting market acceptance of GM food crops, they should also be prepared to match the massive subsidies given to growers of GM food crops.”

The Bracks Government will consult widely with industry groups and the community before making a decision on whether to continue a moratorium on commercial planting of Genetically Modified (GM) canola, Minister for Agriculture, Joe Helper, said today. ”The current moratorium is due to expire on 29 February 2008. No decision has been made on whether to extend the moratorium or allow it to expire,” Mr Helper said. ”The Bracks Government will be consulting industry groups and the community before taking any such decision.

The proposed end of the GM ban in Victoria is about agriculture. [...] Now the pro-GM publicity machine is highlighting the potential to create crops that use less water. Such claims might prove true but we should be clear about one thing: GM is bankrolled by huge multi-national corporations that stand to make huge money. That is why they can afford the best spin doctors and lobbyists that money can buy. To ask Big Agribusiness about GM is a little like consulting Big Tobacco about the risks of smoking.