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Government and ‘opposition’ sign off on uncontrolled GM experiment
The Federal Government and Labor Party have submitted Australians to a nationwide genetic experiment, by failing to support a Greens’ motion disallowing amendments to the Gene Technology Regulations. The amendments allow most animals, plants and microbes modified using CRISPR and similar techniques to be released into the environment and food chain without any risk assessment. The changes effectively turn Australia – our ecosystems and our health – into a giant genetic engineering experiment. The European Network of Scientists for...
read moreScientists urge Senate to keep all GMOs regulated
The European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) has written to all Australian Senators urging them to disallow recent amendments to the Gene Technology Regulations. These allow the release into our environment and food chain of animals, plants and microbes produced using a suite of new genetic modification techniques – with no requirement for safety assessment or traceability. The disallowance motion has been tabled by Greens Senator Janet Rice and will be debated on 13th November. Take...
read moreGM animals will intensify factory farming and may harm our health
As Australia is poised to become one of the first countries in the world to deregulate several new genetic modification techniques in animals, a new report highlights the urgent need for safety assessment and regulatory oversight. Take action! Keep GM animals off our farms The Federal Government has tabled changes to the Gene Technology Regulations that will allow the unregulated use of a number of gene editing techniques in animals, plants and microbes. Senator Janet Rice has introduced a motion to disallow the proposed changes...
read moreProminent Tasmanians warn of threat to GMO moratorium
Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, Senator Nick McKim and smallholder and writer Matthew Evans have joined forces to warn that proposed amendments to the Federal Gene Technology Regulations will undermine Tasmania’s GMO moratorium. The Tasmanian Government recently extended its GMO moratorium by 10 years, with support from all the major political parties. However, the proposed amendments will exclude a whole class of GM techniques from regulation – meaning that Tasmania’s moratorium will no longer apply to them. This is despite our key...
read moreChanges to our Gene Technology Regulations will put us all at risk
The Australian government is tearing up regulations that were put in place to protect us from potentially dangerous genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Changes to the Gene Technology Regulations currently tabled in Federal Parliament will leave the majority of new CRISPR and other gene editing applications unregulated and allow anyone to genetically modify animals, plants and microbes – posing major risks to the environment and human health. Take action! In 2016, the US Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper...
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