Sydney Morning Herald
Genetically modified crops will be a hot potato for Michael Wooldridge, writes MARK RAGG.
FOUR years ago, the Health Minister, Michael Wooldridge, was out of the country when the Prime Minister dumped him in it. With a classic hospital pass, John Howard gave him the responsibility to personally approve every price rise in health insurance rates.
Wooldridge squirmed. Suddenly, he could be blamed for every price increase for each of the many products of 48 different health funds each year. It took a while to get out of that one.
This time, Wooldridge has dumped himself in it, promising on August 22 that on the sensitive issue of genetically modified crops, decisions would "require my approval before anything is released onto the market". He doesn't seem all that comfortable with his own decision.
Last week Wooldridge's then press secretary, Adam Connolly, told the Herald there'd been "a misunderstanding" over Wooldridge's role in the approval of GM crops, and that Senator Grant Tambling, the parliamentary secretary for health, would carry the issue.
"When Dr Wooldridge told Meet the Press he was taking personal control of approving all GMOs [genetically modified organisms], he actually meant the Federal Government," he said.
The Herald asked: "So when he said 'I', he meant 'Senator Tambling'?"
"Yes", Connolly said.
This seemed remarkable, given the forceful words of only three weeks earlier. It took many requests before a staffer would confirm that it was Wooldridge, not Tambling after all, who had the responsibility.
It also took many requests for Wooldridge to divulge, in a written interview, what criteria he'll use to decide whether or not to approve the release of GM crops into the environment.
Yes, he was responsible for approving crops. Apart from scientific advice, he will consider an environmental risk assessment, international experience, ethical issues and "anything else that is relevant".
But the scientific advice on which his decision will be based will no longer be publicly available. Until now, the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee (GMAC) had publicised its position on applications to plant GM crops.
GMAC's recently announced replacement is the Interim Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (IOGTR), which sits in the Federal Health Department. But IOGTR's advice will be kept secret.
The minister's wariness reflects widespread political uncertainty over gene technology. There is still in-fighting over who should have primary responsibility for biotechnology. The Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Nick Minchin, chairs the Government's Biotechnology Ministerial Council while Health has won regulation. Agriculture would like to pinch responsibility (and funding) back from both.
And the wariness affects the Health Department. While the IOGTR has information available on its Web site, the Health Department won't allow its head, Liz Cain, to be interviewed. The gaps in the information publicly available, and questions regarding alleged recent poor performance by GMAC, cannot be addressed.
The Federal Opposition appears similarly uncertain. It has a general position - support of biotechnology - and has decided on a whole-of-government approach. The Opposition spokesman for industry and technology, Bob McMullan, is forming a group of all relevant shadow ministers from portfolios such as science, primary industry, environment, health and trade. But it's ready to formulate neither policy nor strategy.
Only the Democrats seem certain. They, too, support the general thrust of biotechnology, but have proclaimed their concerns over perceived deficiencies in research, education and regulation repeatedly.
Within weeks, the Government will face the blowtorch over specific GM crops. IOGTR will pass its judgment on a batch of applications for trial crops of canola, lupins, peas and others. Soon, Wooldridge will have to decide whether or not to allow the widespread commercial planting of GM canola.
IOGTR's advice will provide the downside, as well as the positives, of such plantings. For example, advice earlier this year from IOGTR's predecessor, GMAC, on an application by the agribusiness firm AgrEvo to grow a hectare of GM canola in Wagga Wagga and several Victorian sites gave stark warning.
GMAC noted that canola cross-pollinates with weedy relatives and that bees transfer pollen up to 50 metres. It said "any future unrestricted release of [herbicide]-resistant canola would be likely to lead to development of [herbicide] resistance in weeds in the long term". That's pretty straightforward.
Wooldridge is going to come under enormous pressure from a loose coalition of interest groups - the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Public Health Association, the Australian Consumers Association, the Organic Federation of Australia, the NSW Greens and parts of the union movement - over the specifics of many of the applications. What minister wants to be held responsible for the near certain spread of herbicide-resistant weeds throughout the country?
The pressure will be applied through Parliament if the Democrats, as seems likely, join in. And the ALP will either attack over each decision, or decide to allow easy political points to pass for the sake of the bigger picture - support of biotechnology.
If opponents of GM foods start taking direct action with crop-burning and destruction of field trials, as happens in Britain, parts of Europe and New Zealand, Wooldridge will have given personal approval for those crops to be planted.
There's no doubt the system still developing should be stronger than the one in place previously. There's more widespread notification of industry applications for approval of GM crops, there's consultation from a broader range of people, and there's a requirement to carry out an environmental risk assessment. However, there's more secrecy over the actual advice.
But there is still no legislative or regulatory control over the use of GM crops in Australia. A company could, if it wished, plant GM crops without penalty. There will be no legislation until millennial celebrations and the Olympics have been forgotten.
Wooldridge has placed himself fair in the firing line. If he approves release of GM crops, he will be seen as endangering the environment. If he doesn't, he's harming Australia's commercial interests.
Wooldridge says he won't predict the political impact of his decisions. But they'll take place six times a year, until late 2001 or later.
It's not going to be pretty.
