Whangarei Mayor Stan Semenoff says it’s time the Northland Regional Council woke up to the fact Northlanders have major concerns about the risks associated with genetically modified plants and animals.
The regional council refused to support or fund a poll on the issue, but the poll results show significant community concern and a demand for local government action.
Auckland and Northland residents seek stricter regulation of any genetically modified (GM) plants and animals grown in their areas. Two thirds or more favour regulation of at least a strength that would make users of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) legally responsible for any environmental or economic harm - either through local regulation or by way of changes to national legislation.
The Colmar Brunton poll carrying this finding was commissioned by the Inter-council Working Party on GMO Risk Evaluation and Management Options. Its purpose was to gauge the degree to which communities are willing to accept risks associated with the outdoor use of GMOs, and to test options for responding to these risks. There is currently no outdoor use of GM plants or animals in Auckland and Northland.
The NRC, while a member of the working party, did not assist in commissioning or funding the survey, and Mr Semenoff says it is hugely disappointing that Northland’s so-called environmental watchdog was not interested in hearing from the community.
“The regional council has stuck its head in the sand on this issue. It is out of touch with the widespread concern within the community.
“Whangarei District and the other councils involved have been right to have had concerns on behalf of our residents, and this is shown by the poll results.
“People don’t want to accept the risks around liability, and they have given a signal to central government to set national regulations. We now have a clear mandate from our community to press the Government to do that,” Mr Semenoff said.
He believes those favouring local regulation were expressing dissatisfaction that central government hadn’t addressed community concerns over GMOs.
Central government should have put a stop to any chance of the release of GMOs into the environment nationally until the issues surrounding them were resolved, but it had not had the backbone.
“Concerns about liability, economic costs and benefits, environmental risks and cultural/community concerns need to be satisfied at a national level.
“Local government can build on national ground rules, but GMOs in the field are not going to respect local government boundaries. The country needs national standards set,” Mr Semenoff said.
Two thirds or more of the residents polled want local or regional councils to have a role in regulating GMOs in their areas, either by setting local rules or by a change of legislation at the national level. Support ranged from 66% to 75% for individual council areas.
The survey also showed that around half the residents (a range of 44% to 55%) want councils to have the right to prohibit GM plants and animals, either by setting local rules or allowing communities, through their councils, the right to reject use of a particular GMO in its area when the national regulator, ERMA, is processing applications.
When questioned about the extent to which councils should set rules in addition to those set by ERMA, levels of support ranged from 40% to 49% for individual council areas. Amongst those respondents who support their council setting rules, total prohibition is the most favoured level of regulation (a range of 39-57%), with strict liability provisions the next most favoured (a range of 22-32%), and prohibiting only GMOs for food production the least favoured (a range of 18-27%).
The most common reasons for supporting local regulation were that there was not enough known about the consequences of GM, that users of GMOs should be held accountable if something goes wrong, and that people shouldn’t interfere with nature. Reasons for not supporting local regulation included respondents being pro-GM, that central government should set the rules, and that ERMA should make decisions over GMOs.
Support for councils having a regulatory role is stronger in Northland than in the Auckland region, and within the Auckland region there is considerable variation between individual councils. For the Waitakere, Auckland City and Franklin communities, levels of support for local regulation were significantly higher than for not utilising local regulation while in Manukau and North Shore there was significantly higher support for not having local regulation. In Rodney and Papakura, the levels of support for and against local regulation were more evenly matched.
However, all communities strongly favour making users of GMOs legally responsible for any economic or environmental harm that may result. Around two thirds of those polled want regulation to make users of GMOs strictly liable for any harm caused, with support ranging from 63% to 72% for individual councils.
At present, the user is not liable for damage resulting from an activity carried out in accordance with an ERMA approval under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO). There is also no requirement for applicants to prove financial fitness in case of damage and no requirement to post bonds to cover costs should damage occur. Therefore, costs from unexpected events or ineffective national regulation will tend to lie with affected parties – neighbouring land users and local authorities.
Support for local regulation is strongest amongst Maori, particularly in the Northland region. It is also strongest amongst semi-rural and rural residents while urban views vary by region. Rural residents are more likely to favour prohibiting GMOs in both Northland and Auckland than are semi-rural or urban residents. Females are more likely to support local regulation than are males, and support is greater amongst 18-39 year olds than older age groups.
The poll also found that there is clear support from the Northland and Auckland communities for only producing food that is GM free but strong support for leaving options open for GM plants and animals in the future. Views were split over whether GM will harm the local tourism industry with Northland indicating yes and Auckland indicating no. However, both Auckland and Northland residents believe that GM will harm the local food industry. In many communities the majority view was that GM will not provide economic benefits, although the Auckland region as a whole believes it will.
Those councils that commissioned the survey through the Working Party are: Whangarei, Far North, Kaipara and Rodney District Councils, Waitakere City Council, and Auckland Regional Council.
The councils on the Working Party will now examine options for responding to community concerns regarding GMOs. These include renewed lobbying of central government to amend the national legislation governing GMOs. The changes sought include putting in place a full strict liability regime for harm caused by GMOs and/or to allow local and regional councils the right to reject GMOs in their jurisdictions when applications are made to ERMA to trial or release GMOs.
Also to be further evaluated are options for local or regional regulation by formulating draft objectives, policies and rules under the RMA. A decision on introducing rules for the Auckland region would most likely have to await the establishment of the new Greater Auckland Council in October 2010.
The collaborative approach adopted by local authorities in the Northland and Auckland regions in regard to genetic engineering is an excellent example of local government working together to address common concerns raised by their respective communities.
Given that it is communities that ultimately carry the risks arising from this technology, the councils on the Working Party have taken the view that each community should be consulted as to what level of risk they are prepared to carry. The communities have clearly responded that they want users of GM to carry the financial risks involved and want fundamental changes to the way GMOs are presently regulated to ensure this.
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