Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-31 Daily Xml

Contents

Genetically Modified Crops

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:28): They were Labor's amendments actually, where various regional areas—

The PRESIDENT: Sorry, can you start again?

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: They were Labor's amendments, minister, about various regional areas.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo, you've got to just ask a supplementary question—no commentary.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: There are other regional areas and council areas that could actually apply for exemptions. Can you provide any figures, if there are any, of how many have been granted, have been rejected, and are there any in the works at the moment?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:28): I thank the honourable member for providing more clarity around his question. I think what he is referring to is that, before the bill was passed into law, Labor's amendment said that councils who wish to opt out and keep their moratorium should be able to do so and present a case for consideration. That consideration was in the scope of the minister, and the minister of the time refused to accept any of those exemptions.

I know the bill passed in 2020 but I can't remember what part of the year it was. It has now been in place for some time. So all of those were rejected by the former minister and growers in many of those areas have now planted genetically modified crops.