The Government is giving New Zealand a strong push along the risky genetic engineering pathway with today's science spending announcements, Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said today.

"National is ignoring the lucrative organic farming alternatives and the huge backlash by European consumers against genetic engineering," she said. "New Zealand is about to become known as the genetic engineering test ground of the southern hemisphere, losing completely its former clean, green image in agriculture."

Today Enterprise and Commerce Minister Max Bradford announced what he called a $36 million New Economy Research Fund to generate ideas for the "businesses and industries of tomorrow".

According to Mr Bradford's press release: "The changes are essential to the future of the rural industries. We must increase the level of high value added produce from the land through biotechnology and other research. The New Economy Research Fund is designed to do just that."

Ms Fitzsimons said: "Biotechnology is the most common term used by New Zealand genetic engineers to describe their work.

"Obviously Mr Bradford is avoiding the 'bad press' term genetic engineering, but he must come clean and tell the public how much more genetic engineering research and genetically engineered crop releases are likely because of this new scientific direction.

"He must also say whether he has carried out risk assessment into the danger of this genetic engineering pathway to New Zealand's $65 million organic farming industry."

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>