Genetically Modified Crops Moratorium

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister update the house on how lifting the GM moratorium will deliver a stronger state economy?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:28): I thank the member for MacKillop, because he would understand—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —as well as anybody in this place the advantages of having the moratorium on GM lifted here in South Australia. As the only mainland state to have that handbrake on our primary production economy, engaged by the former Labor government, the now opposition, it denies the ability and the capacity of our primary sector to use that advantage of GM technology.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: that is debate.

The SPEAKER: The point of order is for debate. I will listen assiduously to the minister's answer to ensure he is sticking to the substance of the question and not debating the matter.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: As we know, coming into government it was a commitment that we gave the primary sector: that we would do a full economic review of what the GM moratorium meant to South Australia. Emeritus Professor Kym Anderson AC came out and did the full review. It was compelling, the review, that there was no economic advantage here in South Australia—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is on two warnings.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —living underneath a GM moratorium. What we saw was that there was significant concern that farmers had borne the cost of that moratorium. The facts are that over $30 million was a burden to our grain growing sector, and that burden continues while this moratorium continues to weigh heavily on our grain producers. What I would say is that this reform is long overdue. It has been 15 years that South Australia has had the handbrake on it. I would also say that we have introduced through regulation the ability to lift the moratorium on mainland South Australia, while that moratorium remains on Kangaroo Island.

Through the consultation period, and through our statutory obligation, we did that by means of listening to the farming sector, listening to the experts, listening to the people, the researchers—those people who are having their hands tied behind their back because, whenever there are licks of money through R&D programs into our universities, into our research stations, South Australia continually is overlooked, and enough is enough. It has to stop.

The lifting of the moratorium is about giving our farmers the choice. Not every farmer wants to be a GM farmer, not every farmer wants to be a non-GM farmer, but it's giving our primary sector the ability to out there and be more competitive. If those opposite are supporting climate change—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: that is debate, sir. Questioning our views is debate, sir.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order, but I am listening to the minister's answer. I am making notes as he answers, and if I feel the need to pull him up I will. Minister.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: Thank you, sir. And if we are talking climate change, these are exactly the sorts of tools that help address climate change. If we are going to put less chemicals on our soils—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —if we are going to put less chemicals over our crops—

Mr Hughes interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Giles!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —if we are going to reduce our CO₂ emissions, if we are going to have productivity gains, then lift the GM moratorium. Listen to those who grow our food. Those who are the deniers are not listening because I know that the opposition have been out listening. They have been doing their Labor Listens posts and they haven't been listening because overwhelmingly they have been asked to lift the moratorium.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: The point of order is for debate. I uphold the point of order. I ask the minister to come back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: Lifting the moratorium is about giving our farmers, our primary producers, the tools to produce more with less—less inputs and more outputs. We know that South Australia is going through a drought at the moment. We know there is severe dry and hardship upon our farmers, yet to be able to utilise that GM technology—planting grain in the dry, being able to deal with the drier and more adverse weather conditions, being able to deal with frost, too. Frost was one of the greatest scourges in the grain growing sector this year, and that is exactly what GM technology can help with.