TV1 News

Genetic Modification Report – Johnson Murder – Double Tragedy

GENTIC MODIFICATION REPORT: The Royal Commission on Genetic Modification has delivered its recommendation, saying GM tests should go ahead, but with tight controls.

It recommends buffer zones to separate GM field trials from conventional agriculture.

The Greens say the report goes too far.

The Government is giving itself three months to digest the report. The moratorium on Genetic modification will probably be extended beyond its August 31 expiry date.

Prospect of more GM crops worries organic farmers. Organics is a growing export industry, although it only comprised one percent of exports last year. Organic farmer Ian Henderson says once New Zealand goes GM, we can’t go back.

The commission said going totally organic would be impractical and uneconomic. Many conventional farmers welcome GM, saying it can improve their produce. Many in science and industry are welcoming the recommendation.

GE Free NZ says it has enough support to fight for a referendum.

JOHNSON MURDER: A teenager and his dad have been charged with the killing of hitchhiker Jason Johnson, whose body was found in a Waikato hydro lake. The teenager is accused of murder, his father charged as an accessory after the fact. Both face other unrelated charges.

DOUBLE TRAGEDY: A small Bay of Plenty family has faced another tragedy – teenager Kirsty Robinson died in a car crash after only months before surviving a boating accident that claimed the lives of three people including her father, Ross.

© Scoop Media