A GE-free Northland is another step closer after councillors in the Far North and Whangarei backed proposed district plan changes banning the release of any genetically modified organisms.
At a meeting in Kaitaia’s Te Ahu Centre Thursday, Far North District Council councillors voted unanimously to notify a proposal to change its District Plan by placing strict controls on the use of GMOs in the district. Whangarei District councillors voted to push ahead with a similar plan change.
If passed, Proposed Plan Change 18 will require anyone planning a GMO field trial to apply for a resource consent, pay a bond to the council in case it caused any damage, for example to neighbouring crops, and ensure ongoing monitoring. The release of GMOs would be illegal and no resource consent could be applied for. The only permitted GMO activities would be in laboratories or veterinary vaccines.
Read the full original article: Councils plan to restrict or even ban GE field trials
