Question Without Notice No. 464 asked in the Legislative Council on 23 June 2011 by Hon Lynn Maclaren
Parliament: 38 Session: 1
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD — HONEY AND CANOLA
464. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the minister representing the Minister for Agriculture and Food:
(1) Is the minister aware that companies such as Woolworths and Coles require GMfree declarations from honey producers?
(2) When the WA honey industry wrote to the minister in April 2010 requesting information about the locations of GM crops to ensure that it could maintain a GMfree product, why did the minister refuse to make this information public, stating that “market forces will eventually decide the issue”?
(3) How has the government implemented finding 3 of the government’s 2009 review of the Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Act 2003, which recommended that consideration be given to the desirability of providing accurate information about the location of GM crops to producers who might be affected by them and to provide ways of providing that information?
(4) How much GM canola was produced last year?
(5) How much of this GM canola has been sold and to whom?
Hon PETER COLLIER replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. On behalf of the minister representing the Minister for Agriculture and Food, I provide the following answer.
(1) No. In April 2010 Wescobee Ltd informed me that Coles and Woolworths in Australia require honey that is free from any artificial contamination. GM was not identified as being an artificial contaminant.
(2) My April 2010 response to the chairman of Wescobee noted that —
Sorry, I am missing the second page of the answer. It is not in my file. I will hopefully find the remaining answers. I apologise for that.
The PRESIDENT: You might be able to finish that answer at the end of question time.