WILLIAMS GM-Free Farmers representatives were pleased with a meeting last week with advisers to Agriculture and Food Minister Dean Nalder.
Janette Liddelow and Graham Harding met with two of Mr Nalder's senior advisers to discuss genetically modified-related issues and the Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Repeal Bill.
Ms Liddelow said she told the advisers to send a strong message to Mr Nalder that retaining the GM Free Areas legislation was a "no-brainer".
"Who wants to hand all the power to Canberra when the State retains the responsibility of cleaning up the mess when it all goes wrong?" she said.
The repeal bill is being debated in the Legislative Council.
Labor Agriculture Region MLC Darren West, who has spoken extensively for retaining the bill, claims repealing it would hand control of what GM crops were grown and where in WA to the Office of Gene Technology Regulator, which comes under the federal Health Department.
Ms Liddelow said she relayed to the advisers comments made by a hay exporter who visited her property recently.
"Because we do GM-free hay to Japan I asked him what would happen if some GM contamination was discovered in the hay,'' she said.
"He said it would shut the industry down overnight. We stressed to Mr Nalder's advisers that these were the sorts of issues that needed to be researched and some form of protection for the industry determined here, not in Canberra.
"I asked why there was not a GM-free box to tick on the National Vendor Declaration for livestock - you can tick about 10 different boxes for quality assurance but you might have run stock on GM stubble.
"With much more of paddock to plate psychology these days, people want to know where their food comes from and what's in it, so markets need to be protected.
"Their attitude was that I was 'opening a can of worms' with that argument."
Apart from the repeal bill and a need to establish responsibility if GM contamination threatens commodities markets, Ms Liddelow said the meeting also discussed biosecurity.
"I thought it was a productive meeting," she said.
"The advisers were engaged and interested in what we had to say.
"They admitted Mr Nalder had come to the ministry with a blank slate.
"They said there was a new team of administrators that was just starting to meet with farmers to hear their views and they were trying to get their head around the (GM) issues."
She said Mr Nalder's advisers had promised to remain in contact with GM-Free Farmers.
Mal Gill
Wool and dairy writer for Farm Weekly.
Wool and dairy writer for Farm Weekly.
