GE watchdog sees little change

By ANNE BESTON and FRANCESCA MOLD

All the work so far to police genetic modification does not appear to have made New Zealanders feel any safer, says the Government's GM watchdog.

The Environmental Risk Management Authority says despite the Royal Commission on GM last year, the two sides in the debate continue to be far apart and there is a lack of quality information on the issue.

In briefing papers to Environment Minister Marian Hobbs, Erma also discussed the need for a "conditional release" of genetically modified organisms clause in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act.

The act was a "severe barrier" to the eventual commercialisation of a genetically modified organism, Erma said, because it provided for either tightly controlled research in a contained environment or unconditional release.

On accusations of leniency in approving applications for GM research, the authority argued that strict controls meant "the result can be expected to be more often an approval than a decline".

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