Pollen from genetically modified ryegrass could have escaped into New Zealand's environment because of the actions of a senior government scientist, the Green Party says.
Igor Kardailsky was dismissed from his job at AgResearch's Grasslands facility in Palmerston North in July because he allegedly allowed genetically modified ryegrass plants to flower and potentially release pollen without adequate protection.
The Crown research institute said his actions breached Ministry for Primary Industry (MPI) regulations and could have caused a serious risk to biosecurity, the environment or public health.
Green Party GE spokesman Steffan Browning said he was very concerned that the GE ryegrass was allowed to flower.
"What I am unclear about at the moment is what level of containment the experiment was in and whether the experiment was legal in the full sense at all."