Ewen-Street Ian: New Organisms and Other Matters Bill — In Committee 
Ewen-Street Ian: New Organisms and Other Matters Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8854] 
IAN EWEN-STREET (Green) 
: 
 I find the “New Organisms and Other Matters” title completely misleading. Yes we are talking about new organisms but why do we not call this bill the “New Organisms Are Alien Species Bill” because that is what they are. Let us not forget that all GE species are alien species. That is why they are created in the first place—so that their owners can take out a patent on them. It is a crazy situation whereby half of a company says how different the organism is so that it can be patented and at the same time the other half of the company says: “Well actually it is not that different after all. In fact it is substantially equivalent and we don’t need any new regulations for it.” 
I think another possible title for this bill would be the “Bio-insecurity Bill”. These alien species are like the alien species—as my colleague Bernie Ogilvy has just mentioned—that come from overseas. We spend $130 million a year at our wharves and airports keeping them out. Why on earth do we want to release them from inside our economy? We do not know and we cannot possibly know what the long-term consequences of these organisms will be for our ecosystems. We do not know and we cannot know whether they will be the possums gorse rabbits or whatever of the future. 
Another possible title is the “Economic Stupidity Bill”. We are a market-driven economy and it is incumbent on us to provide what our markets demand. The market signals are exceptionally clear: our foreign markets do not want GE food—period. What they want—and are signalling to us—is GE-free food. They want clean green safe food. 
Perhaps we should call this the “Economic Treason Bill”. Members should have a think about the US corn growers. They lost 98 percent of their export market to the European Union—[ 
Interruption 
] The Minister obviously thinks it is funny but I do not. At the same time Canadian canola growers lost 100 percent of their market to the European Union. They survive only because they have subsidies; we simply would not survive. 
I have a question to ask the Committee. I have asked it in the House before I have asked it up and down the country and I have never had a decent answer to it. Can anybody in this room tell me the name of one genetically engineered food product that we could grow in New Zealand for which there is any demand in any of our export markets? Silence. There is none. Why are we doing this? 
Perhaps we should call this bill the “Anti-democracy Bill”. We have 68 to 70 percent of the population of this country opposed to having GE organisms released into the environment. Why does the Government not listen to the people? Let us go back to the royal commission. Eleven thousand people took the trouble to make a submission to the royal commission and 2 percent supported what the Government is doing now. Ninety-two percent were opposed and 6 percent did not have an opinion. Why on earth is the Government doing this? It is madness. 
Perhaps we should call this bill the “Why Don’t We Learn From the Mistakes of Others Bill?”. For instance the Americans have found that they have lost all of their markets to the European Union and Japan. They cannot even sell their products as animal feed because organisations like McDonalds refuse to sell meat products that are raised on GE food. The ultimate indignity for the American farmers is that they cannot even give their food away as aid for the developing world. Do members remember the Zambian incident? They have starving people but they refused even to accept GE food as aid. Why is the Government imposing that bizarre scenario on New Zealand farmers? 
Perhaps the bill should be called the “Why Don’t We Just Accept That This Madness Comes From US Pressure Bill?” because the US has painted itself into a corner. The US has embraced GE food and found that it cannot do anything with it.