Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Fitzsimons Jeanette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8027] 
3.  
JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister for the Environment following her reported statement “Um I don’t know” in response to the  
New Zealand Herald 
’s question “Are you happy to eat GM products?” 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
 on behalf of the 
 Prime Minister 
: Yes. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: With reference to the Minister’s statement: “In this area we are into management of risk or limitation of risk” does she think that the 68 percent of New Zealanders who told the  
New Zealand Herald 
’s weekend poll that they wanted the moratorium continued will tolerate this approach of allowing the risks to increase? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Government is putting in place one of the strongest regulatory regimes in the developed world. The Minister is absolutely correct to say that we are always involved in management of risk. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Does the Prime Minister have the confidence in herself to appear before the select committee inquiry into genetically modified corn noting that she personally made phone calls to key scientists; her own department’s quite extensive involvement; that she said publicly during the election that there would be total openness by all those involved; and that she accused TV3 of ambushing her; or will Labour members on the select committee block the Prime Minister being able to appear before the committee? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No that question is not related specifically to the question asked. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question we have before the House is about confidence. My question was about the Prime Minister having the confidence to front before a select committee and it is also about the safety of GM products. I have to say to you Mr Speaker that the central issue of the select committee inquiry is the very issue of public confidence and the safety of genetically modified products. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: The original question was about the Prime Minister’s confidence in the Minister for the Environment. One cannot expand it beyond the Minister for the Environment. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is perfectly correct and that is the advice I have received. The question must be related to the original question which was about the Minister for the Environment. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. While Dr Nick Smith was asking his question I noticed that Trevor Mallard and Dr Michael Cullen were having a conversation with you. I fear that they may have been suggesting to you that the question was out of order. That is not a proper process. If they believe that the question was out of order then the proper approach is not to whisper in the Speaker’s ear but rather to take a point of order and make that point. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If I thought they were doing that they would have been ordered from the Chamber. I listened to the remarks the Clerk made and I always take the advice of the Clerk. I had a difficulty in my own mind with that particular question and I have ruled accordingly. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I seek leave of the House to be able to ask the question because I think there is significant public interest in whether the Prime Minister will appear. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. While I accept the response you gave to Mr Hide none the less a number of us saw the mutterings from Dr Cullen and Mr Mallard and they do cause us concern. Further to that in situations where you have felt that the question strayed from the pure intent of the primary question rather than ruling it out you have quite often invited the questioner to rephrase his or her question so that it complies with the Standing Orders and meets the test you are obliged to apply on behalf of the House. I wonder whether this case might be a similar one. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Yes I think that is a reasonable request. I will let Dr Smith have another go. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Does the Prime Minister agree with the answer from the Minister for the Environment when asked: “Are you happy to eat GM products?” which was “Um I don’t know” and is that Government policy? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: It is always helpful when people give quotations in their full context. The Minister for the Environment actually said: “Um I don’t know I travel quite a lot. I probably have ingested it and not known it.” With her usual facility with words she went on to say: “ I tell you I’ve had a helluva lot more fears about some of the chemicals on our things.” 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: In relation to GM organisms in the human food chain why has the Government ignored the Business and Economic Research economic analysis of the risks and opportunities that could arise from genetically modified technologies that was contracted as part of the Government’s response to the royal commission report? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I do not think it is true that we have ignored those findings. We have followed a complete precautionary approach all the way through and have continued to do so. The point that has been made frequently of course is that it is almost certain that GM foods are already in the New Zealand food chain. 
Rodney Hide 
: In the light of the Prime Minister’s answer to the primary question on what date did the Prime Minister learn that her brother-in-law had advised the Minister for the Environment by email that: “In my opinion the genie is out and it will be impossible to adhere to the present zero NZ GM standard in the long term.” or is that another one of those communications about which the Government um does not know? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am sure I can obtain an answer for the member but I do not have the information in front of me to answer a question so specific about that date. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Noting that the moratorium on GM is to end in just 7 weeks’ time why should New Zealanders have any confidence in the Government’s regulatory regime when the very best that the Minister responsible for that regime can say when asked: “Are you happy to eat GM products?” is “Um I don’t know” plus a lot of other confusion and does the Prime Minister believe that that is good enough? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think a number of members could sometimes learn to say “don’t know” when they do not know. The Minister was actually saying that she travelled a lot and did not know whether she had ingested GM products. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Is it true that on 9 April 2003 the Cabinet policy committee directed the Environmental Risk Management Authority to carry out further work on how it would assess economic impacts and that the implications of that policy were not to be reported until 31 October 2004; if so how can the Government be confident that the authority has the capacity for economic analysis of applications in the interim? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Yes but fundamentally it is not the authority’s primary role to make economic judgments. People make those judgments based on a number of considerations and it is up to the person investing in the product to make them not the authority. What I am getting fascinated by is a clear sign that two parties in this Parliament are doing U-turns on this policy. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In the second to last answer the acting Prime Minister did not seem to know anything about the subject. All of a sudden he makes an allegation that two parties are making a U-turn on a very fair question which simply was: “Why are we going to have a clearance 1 year before an economic report is in from the Environmental Risk Management Authority?” Frankly he can say all of those things but he cannot make allegations about other parties’ policies. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: He can make a comment but that comment might not necessarily be accepted by any other member of the House. It stands as that. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Given that the Minister in charge of the Environmental Risk Management Authority does not know whether she is happy to eat GM products can the Prime Minister tell us whether she is happy to eat GM products? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think that the Prime Minister has eaten the Leader of the Opposition on a number of occasions in this House and he is some kind of GM product. [ 
Interruption 
] I withdraw and apologise. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will have the answer now please. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: While I am— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Please be seated. There will be no reference to the absence of any member in this House. That is a long-established rule. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There was no reference to the Prime Minister’s whereabouts whatsoever. I just said: “Where is she?” She could be outside for all that members know. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member knows that she is not in the Chamber as I do too and that is just playing with words. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am the Prime Minister’s deputy not her food-taster. I do not know what the Prime Minister’s taste in food is. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: What is the Prime Minister’s response to major exporters Zespri ENZA Ltd Heinz-Wattie Ltd Sanitarium and to the many small food exporters that say that they have built a market reputation on GE-free foods and that releasing genetically engineered crops will damage their export earnings? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: My reading of the evidence is that while there is some evidence to demonstrate that in particular crop areas genetically modified crops might have a lesser market because of fears there is no real evidence that that translates across into other exports of other products from the same country. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Are small fast-growing niche-marketing value-added export businesses like Lisa’s Healthy Foods now turning over $6 million a New Zealand free-range egg and poultry company getting twice the price of US eggs in the US and the Celtic Organic Winery consistent with the Government’s growth and innovation strategy; if so will the Government support their development and protect their market advantage? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: There are countries that are successfully exporting genetically modified food non - genetically modified non-organic food and organic food simultaneously.