Parliamentary Procedure

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS MANAGEMENT (EXTENSION OF CONTROLS) AMENDMENT BILL

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 5 March 2008. Page 2033.)

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (22:05): I move:

That order of the day private business No. 9 be discharged.

It is with a degree of pleasure that I have moved for this to be discharged. I introduced this bill two months ago to extend the genetically modified crops moratorium in South Australia. I introduced it in February, because I feared that the South Australian government was going to follow the path of Victoria and New South Wales and, once the current moratorium had expired in a few weeks, not renew the moratorium. That was the intent of my bill, and it would have extended the moratorium for another five years.

We now have an undertaking, and we have gone through a public process, in fact, conducted by the government. The undertaking is that there will be an indefinite moratorium on genetically modified crops in South Australia unless there are convincing arguments (and those arguments, as we know, have to only be about marketing advantage) to the contrary that would suggest to the government that it should lift the moratorium. Now that it has done this, this bill is no longer necessary and I am pleased, therefore, to be able to remove it from the Notice Paper.

Order of the day discharged.

Bill withdrawn.

At 22:09 the council adjourned until Thursday 3 April 2008 at 14:15.