NZ First leader Winston Peters said a major overhaul of genetic modification laws would not pass before the election and was likely to become an election issue.
As part of National’s coalition agreements with ACT and NZ First, the proposed Gene Technology Bill would end an effective 30-year ban on gene editing outside the laboratory and open the door to releasing modified organisms.
Speaking in Cambridge on Sunday, Peters said the coalition deal made NZ First’s support conditional on adequate safeguards, and the party was not yet satisfied the protections were there.
He said New Zealand’s export reputation was built on its GE-free label and would not be sacrificed for “other party’s political agendas”. Read more at RNZ, The Centrist and Louise Vicente on the RCR blog, watch Winston Peters’ speech and follow RCR’s Gene Tech Action Tracker.
Image credit: Julia Koblitz
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