WA: Ag dept says GM crop locations on web

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2001
WA: Ag dept says GM crop locations on web

PERTH, Aug 10 AAP - The locations of all genetically modified crop trial sites in which
the West Australian Agriculture Department had an involvement were available on the internet,
the department said today.

The department's biotechnology website listed all current trials and past trials now
undergoing post-trial monitoring, director general Graeme Robertson said.

They included cotton, lupin, field pea, clover and canola trials completed on 30 properties.

Dr Robertson said the department had never been involved in secret trials, and its
commitment to transparency of GM trials went further than the requirements of the Gene
Technology Regulator.

WA Agriculture Minister Kim Chance said he acknowledged some landholders involved in
trials completed before the new regulatory system on June 21 might want to preserve their
privacy.

"We will still be making details of these former trials and ongoing monitoring sites
public," Dr Chance said.

"But if the landholder requests that their name and property name not be listed on
the internet then we will respect their wishes."

Dr Robertson said the WA agriculture department was involved in two active GM trials
in the Kimberley, one for cotton and the other for poppy, which were being undertaken
with commercial companies.

The cotton trial is over a total of 437 hectares on four private properties in the
Ord river Irrigation Area and on the department's Frank Wise Institute research station.

The poppy trial was at the institute over less than one hectare.

AAP sd/cjh/ p

KEYWORD: GENE WA

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