News

Broken Promise and Broken Toxic Chemicals Reassessment Process
14 August 2008
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ETS Rules Prejudge Level of Corporate Welfare Required
24 June 2008
Eight of the companies set to qualify for corporate welfare under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are together likely to receive $1.4 billion or more over the next decade. ...More

Consumers Pay Over $1 Billion of Major Emitters’ Power Bills
18 June 2008
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ETS Change Puts Major Pressure on New Carbon Currency
08 May 2008
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Households and SMEs Pay 90% of Emissions-related Charges
30 April 2008
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Credibility of Food Safety Regulation takes a Significant Hit
20 December 2007
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It’s Official: Agriculture Can Make Major Emissions Reductions
22 November 2007
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NZ Has Strong Grounds for Rejecting GM Lysine Corn Decision
09 October 2007
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Health System Not Ready for Animal to Human Transplant Risks
04 October 2007
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Time out on GM Lysine Corn Decision a Good Step
02 August 2007
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Food Safety Regulator Fails GM Lysine Corn Test
19 July 2007
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Agriculture Can Meet its Share of Kyoto Target at a Profit
27 June 2007
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ERMA Confirms Scant Benefits from GM Brassica Trial
29 May 2007
ERMA’s summary of its decision to approve the field trialling of GM brassica crops makes clear just how few benefits are expected to result from the exercise. ...More

Change of approach required to achieve a sustainable New Zealand
05 April 2007
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New Attack on GM Food Safety Testing Standards
07 February 2007
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Potential Scale of Kyoto Bill Will Drive Setting of a Price on Carbon
11 December 2006
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MAF Not Adequately Risk Managing GM Contamination at the Border
06 December 2006
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Give Greenhouse Gas Emission Permits to Citizens, Not Emitters
02 November 2006
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Use Import Regulations to Drive Methyl Bromide Recapture
29 October 2006
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New German GMO Liability Law Carries Lessons for NZ
03 July 2006
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Self-regulation Inadequate for Designer Organism Technology
23 May 2006
Developers engaged in "synthetic biology" are discussing proposals for simply self-regulating this new applied science with far reaching implications....More

NZ Seeks Break With UN Understanding on Sterile Seeds
22 March 2006
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New Forms of GMOs Highlight Biosecurity Loophole
06 March 2006
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MFE Provides "Back Door" Approvals for Toxic Substances
14 December 2005
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A First GMO Release or Kite Flying?
29 November 2005
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Strong Public Support for Zero Tolerance to GM Contamination
17 August 2005
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75% Support NZ Remaining a GM Free Food Producer
16 August 2005
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Foreign Affair’s Stance on GM Liability Provokes Laughter at Talks
31 May 2005
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Innocent Property Owners Set to Pay for Contamination Cleanups
04 May 2005
The Ministry for the Environment (MFE) is paving the way for property owners to be forced to pay for the cleanup of contamination that they did not know about when they purchased their land....More

Risk of Massive Transfer of Liability for Contaminated Land Clean-up
07 December 2004
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Auction Catalogue: Portrait of a Future New Zealand
05 November 2004
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Leaving GM Contaminated Crops in the Ground Goes Against Market Realities
20 October 2004
The recommendation by a Parliamentary select committee that GM contaminated crops be allowed to remain in the ground goes against market realities. ...More

New Rules Help Keep Food Pure
29 September 2004
As many premium markets firm up on their unwillingness to accept even a trace of genetically modified content in food, New Zealand's ability to meet this demand has quietly taken two important steps forward....More

Weeding Out Contamination
22 September 2004
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New Means to Check GM Contamination in Seed Imports
21 July 2004
New practices for supplying maize seed to New Zealand demonstrate how the policy of zero tolerance to GM contaminated seed can be maintained at little or no cost to the economy....More

Cradle to Grave Subsidies for GMO Development
28 October 2003
Government has approved new blanket subsidies for GM developers that complete the cradle to the grave state assistance programme for GMOs, said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry. ...More

ABARE Report on GM Economics Ignores Consumer Rejection
20 October 2003
A report projecting huge economic losses for Australia and New Zealand if GM crops are not adopted leaves out of its modelling the widespread consumer rejection of GM food, said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry. ...More

Anderton’s Stance Shows Importance of GM Food Restraint
14 October 2003
The Progressive Coalition’s decision to vote against the NOOM Bill demonstrates the importance of legal restraints on the growing of GM food said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry. ...More

Canadians Contradict Government Assurances on GM
06 October 2003
Government assurances that export markets will not be affected by GM plantings in New Zealand are contradicted by a previously secret paper from a country that Government cites as proof of its claims....More

Financial Fitness Should be Requirement for GM Release
29 September 2003
Developers applying to release GM organisms will face fewer compulsory checks on their financial fitness than a bank would make on someone looking for a mortgage on their home, said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry....More

Government Yet to Set GM Contamination Limits
17 September 2003
Government has yet to specify what levels of GM contamination will be officially tolerated beyond a GM farmer’s boundary said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry. ...More

United Paints Misleading Picture on GM Economics
09 September 2003
United Future leader Peter Dunne yesterday ventured into the debate over GM release with a media statement that paints an entirely misleading picture of what is at stake for the economy, said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry....More

Environmental Regulator Left to Make Key Economic Calls
01 September 2003
A select committee review of proposed GM legislation has left a fundamental economic question to an environmental regulator, ERMA said Sustainability Council Executive Director Simon Terry....More

Council welcomes NZ First announcement
29 August 2003
The Sustainability Council welcomes the NZ First announcement that GM food production should be treated differently from other GM applications and that more time is required before the current prohibition on their release is relaxed....More

Popular support for NZ Remaining a GM Free Food Producer
16 August 2003
70% of New Zealanders would support this country’s food production remaining GM Free, according to a new Colmar Brunton poll....More

GM Food Production Would Damage Brand New Zealand
06 August 2003
The debate over the release of GM organisms is too often set up around a false choice that could cost food exporters dearly. ...More

Australian States Reject GM Food Production
28 July 2003
Australia is set to remain a GM Free Food Producer, even though the federal authorities have recently approved two GM canola varieties for commercial release....More

The Case for NZ Remaining a GM Free Food Producer
24 July 2003
The Sustainability Council has released a new policy proposal: that New Zealand remain a GM Free Food Producer for the next five years. ...More

80% Support for NZ Growing only GM Free Food
23 July 2003
An overwhelming majority of New Zealanders support New Zealand remaining a nation that grows only GM Free food. ...More

NZ’s Export Markets Sensitive to Trace GM Contamination
06 July 2003
If even a pizza maker in Japan is "routinely testing" for GM content, this is the clearest demonstration of how sensitive New Zealand’s premium export markets are to GM contamination....More

NZ Turns Against Biggest Trading Partner
13 May 2003
“Why is New Zealand joining a fight that pits us against our biggest trading partner over products we do not even grow” asked Sustainability Council Chair, Sir Peter Elworthy. ...More

Non-GM Agriculture Not Adequately Protected by New Bill
06 May 2003
The “conditional release” of GMOs puts reliance on protective controls that Government acknowledges could fail, said Sustainability Council Chair, Sir Peter Elworthy. ...More

Inadequate GM Legislation Introduced Tomorrow
28 April 2003
"Less than a fortnight after it issued a report showing how any release of an agricultural GMO could seriously damage export incomes, Government is pressing ahead without protection for New Zealand’s GM Free food production status......More

GM Wheat Fails Market Test
17 April 2003
Wheat exporters in Canada and the US have been clearly informed by their customers that they dont want GM wheat and that non-GM wheat will be rejected if introduced....More

Economics Report Fails to Justify GM Release
17 April 2003
A study undertaken for Government has failed to show any sure economic gains from releasing GMOs. It shows no concrete benefits that would justify New Zealand giving up now its status as a GM Free Food Producer....More

Key Coexistence Questions Remain Unanswered
17 April 2003
“Government has yet to answer the question whether New Zealand farms will be contaminated if agricultural GMOs are released on a commercial scale”, said the Chairman of the Sustainability Council, Sir Peter Elworthy....More

European Consumers Not Tempted To GM Food
20 March 2003
European consumers would reject GM food even if there were benefits to it over and above ordinary food. This is a key conclusion from the latest official survey for the European Commission....More

GM Liability - Innocent Victims to Fend for Themselves
11 February 2003
“The Government has left innocent victims to fend for themselves if a GM release causes harm” said Sustainability Council Executive Director, Simon Terry....More

Government Rushing GM Decisions Before Economic Advice In
10 February 2003
“Government has rushed to clear the way for release of GMOs into the environment before it has even assessed the economic impact on New Zealand” said Sustainability Council Chair, Sir Peter Elworthy....More

Cabinet Faces Key Tests on Approach to GM Release
03 February 2003
Cabinet today faces key tests on its approach to the release of GMOs. It is considering changes to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act that governs how ERMA makes decisions on GM release. ...More

GM Wheat Roundly Rejected in Key Markets
16 November 2002
As New Zealand moves a step closer to allowing GM crops to be grown, plans to launch the next major GM variety have gone on hold in the US” said Sustainability Council Chair, Sir Peter Elworthy....More

Taxpayers Should not pay for GM Seed Contamination
03 October 2002
Liability for GM contamination must remain with those who import or use GM seed and not be passed to the taxpayer....More

Key GMO Issues Remain Unanswered
26 September 2002
Providing more flexibility over how GMOs are released is prudent but does not address the real questions raised by GM release....More

Government Too Slow to Protect Against GM Maize
09 August 2002
Government is shown to have again acted too late in the face of a clear exposure to GM contamination....More

Sustainable Development Strategy Requires More Grunt
05 August 2002
The Sustainability Council backed today's call by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for a review of the capacity within government to implement its proposed Sustainable Development Strategy....More

Extending Moratorium Affects Tiny Part of Research
21 July 2002
An extension of the moratorium on GMO release would affect only a very small part of New Zealand's biological research effort....More

NZ Could be Targeted for High Risk GMO Testing
17 July 2002
New Zealand will need to change its liability laws if it is to avoid being targeted by developers of more risky GMOs....More

Europe Sets the Standard for GM Liability Law
07 July 2002
Attorney General Margaret Wilson is expected to respond today to requests for release of the Law Commission report on GM liability....More

Call for Five Year Moratorium on GMO Release
03 July 2002
Five eminent New Zealanders called for a five-year moratorium on the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) at today’s launch of the Sustainability Council of New Zealand. ...More

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