New Australian seed legislation. There are recent restrictons for propagators. Plants can be patented which assumes that the patentor invented the plant or was involved in the development of that species. These plants have been cultivated by hundreds of thousands of people over the centuries. No-one person should have the right to 'own' patents to such collective work.
Patents also restrict world supply of plants and therefore world food supplies.
Michel Fanton writes in Seed Savers' Network Newsletter, Spring 94 about the Australian Plant Breeders' Rights legislation. The Plant Breeders Rights Act was passed on 24th August 1994, It contains many changes to the 1987 Act and paves the way for more corporate involvement in Australian agriculture. Prior to this bill, farmers had the right to save seeds ontheir farms whether they were protected by breeders rights or not.