Law Commission GE report won't be released until after election

3.00pm

A Law Commission report on legal liability surrounding the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms will not be released until after the election.

The commission's findings were delivered to Attorney-General Margaret Wilson in mid-May but not released as she had asked for further information. The report was not presented to cabinet.

It was expected to be released in September, a spokeswoman for Ms Wilson told NZPA this morning.

Commission reports were usually released with Crown comment, she said.

GE has become a key election issue, with the Green Party vowing not to support any Government that lifted the moratorium on commercial release of GE.

It is due to be lifted in October 2003.

The election had not been a factor in the delay, the spokeswoman said, information about how other countries handled the issue was being sought.

The Royal Commission on Genetic Modification said in its July 2001 report there was no need for changes to legal liabilities related to genetic engineering.

But when the Government announced its responses to the Royal Commission report in October last year it asked the Law Commission to look into the matter.

"The independence of the Law Commission will be an important factor when it comes to weighing up the various competing arguments," Ms Wilson said at the time.

The referral came after former Labour prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer called on the Government to make GE developers fully financially liable for its risks.

Sir Geoffrey's law firm, Chen and Palmer, and consultants Simon Terry and Associates produced a report saying GE developers should bear the full costs if damage resulted from GE experimentation, along "polluter pays" lines.

Mr Terry, executive director of anti-GE lobby group the Sustainability Council, today issued a statement saying Ms Wilson was about to respond to requests that the Law Commission report be released.

Last week, the council called for the GE moratorium to be extended.

It argued New Zealand's agricultural exports would be at risk if the country lost its clean, green image by allowing field trials of genetically modified plants.

- NZPA

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