Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:617;Page:12977] 
12.  
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Minister for the Environment 
: Has any assessment been undertaken of the environmental effects on the soil at the Whakamaru farm that held more than 2000 transgenic sheep since those sheep were slaughtered; if not why not? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Associate Minister for the Environment) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister for the Environment 
: No the field trial met all the conditions imposed by the Environmental Risk Management Authority and the risk assessment carried out did not identify any risks to the soil either before or following the trial. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Why has there been no monitoring for horizontal gene transfer either through soil bacteria or insect parasites when such monitoring has been required for AgResearch’s much smaller GE cow trials and is the Government not interested in improving our scientific knowledge in this field? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Can I repeat and stress to the member that controls are imposed by the Environmental Risk Management Authority to manage identified risks. As no risks were identified no controls were necessary. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Can she confirm that the Whakamaru PPL Therapeutics site was a containment facility for the largest field trial of GE animals in New Zealand involving over 3000 transgenic sheep; if so how is it possible that the Environmental Risk Management Authority did not impose any specific post-trial conditions and monitoring of the containment facility for the survival and transmission of DNA and then allowed the containment facility to be signed off and given a clean bill of health before any post-trial monitoring and assessment had taken place? 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I heard the member in her question refer to transgender sheep. I assume she misread the question. I am not aware that there have been horizontal gene transfers from certain other persons. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Perhaps the member may restate— 
Sue Kedgley 
: I did no such thing; I referred to transgenic sheep. That was very witty but it is not true. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: As the member has corrected that I will ask the Minister to reply. 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: The Environmental Risk Management Authority was satisfied that the containment regime at that site and the other controls that were imposed would adequately contain the organism involved in the trial. Those controls at the time included keeping the sheep in containment facilities approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry disposal of all waste milk on site the incineration of the sheep and any biological material and the individual tagging of sheep and implanting of microchips for identification as well as the exclusion of other organisms from the containment facility. I can confirm that the destruction of that material and its burial was completed on 5 March 2004 in the presence of a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry biosecurity inspector. The Environmental Risk Management Authority’s risk assessment identifies no further risks attached to the site. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Why did the Government not require autopsies of the destroyed sheep to investigate any unintended effects of GE as recommended by a number of scientists; and is that not another example of how the Government does not want to look in case it finds them? 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: I am advised that autopsies of the sheep were carried out.