Sixteen thousand submitters from all over New Zealand opposed the former government's sneaky attempt last year to allow the indiscriminate planting of GE trees anywhere in the country. A large chunk of those submissions came from Tai Tokerau and Tamaki, a region stretching from the Bombay hills north to Cape Reinga, where outdoor use of GMOs is not allowed.
The National Party's goal? Override any precautionary or prohibitive GE policies, provisions, and rules in local councils plans and destroy our valuable enforceable GE Free zones.
Since 2003, Northland and Auckland councils have worked collaboratively and in a fiscally responsible manner to put into place an additional tier of local protection against the risks of outdoor use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), much needed because of serious inadequacies in the national legislation (Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act).
GE-Free Northland, foresters with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certification, and many other primary producers were pleased to learn that controversial clause 6.4 had been removed, when the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) released the new Environmental Standards (NES) for Plantation Forestry in August.
The new NES-PF gives foresters, councils, and communities clear guidelines on how to protect the environment while achieving a sustainable forestry industry (although many submitters requested stronger provisions to protect indigenous trees, wildlife habitats, and ecosystems).