Genetically Modified Crops

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government has provided grain farmers with choice on what they would like to grow?

The Hon. D.K.B. BASHAM (Finniss—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:10): I thank the member for Flinders for his question and also thank him for the update from his area earlier this morning in relation to the grain growers on Eyre Peninsula and the wonderful season they are having, firstly, by just the sheer volume of grain that has been grown but also by the opportunity of great prices here in South Australia being taken advantage of. Even though there has been some rain damage to some parts, they are still able to get good prices even for feed grain this year.

For the first time, after 16 years of a Labor moratorium on genetically modified crops in South Australia, our farmers are now able to harvest GM canola and safflower. The first truckloads of GM canola have been delivered to the Viterra sites, mostly on Eyre Peninsula at this stage, with about 5,000 tonnes coming into Edillilie and Port Neill.

The following data has been provided to me about how much has been planted in South Australia this year: on Eyre Peninsula, there was over 14,000 hectares; on the Limestone Coast, down in the member for MacKillop's area, 2,000 hectares have been planted; in the Murray and Riverland areas, about 600 hectares have been planted; and over on Yorke Peninsula and in the Mid North about 6,500 hectares have been planted. So a total of about 23,500 hectares have been planted.

The seed that was available in South Australia was all consumed and planted this year, and this has been a perfect year for the use of the GM canola opportunity. With a late break in the season, most of the crops were planted dry, which meant they did not have the opportunity to do any weed preparation prior to seeding. They had to respond after germination. The way GM canola operates is that it allows that response to occur without affecting the plant itself. There was a great opportunity this year to actually take advantage of this.

The review of the moratorium in South Australia found that grain farmers were missing out or had missed out on at least $33 million since 2004 and were expected to miss out on another $5 million if it was extended right through to the 2025 date of the moratorium due to be completed. I think also it is really important to recognise that right now the latest bid prices for canola show there is very little difference between GM canola here in South Australia and normal canola. It's about $10 or $15 difference. Certainly, the production costs, and the output of GM canola, are better and so the returns to the farmers will be better overall.

Also, intriguingly, the price of GM canola here in South Australia is the highest in the country. The bids that are out there at the moment are $23 a tonne more than Victoria and $85 a tonne more than WA for GM canola. These are the opportunities that have been missing for South Australian farmers in the past. This is giving them the opportunity to actually grow a product; it has given them the opportunity to take advantage of this, get those returns and meet the markets for the GM canola that operate here in South Australia.

I wish the rest of the harvest luck with the seasonal conditions that we are experiencing. We are having difficulties getting that harvest off but, as always, our farmers are doing what our state needs and delivering for this state.