“ACT has long said that if we want to get serious about reducing our emissions and allowing scientific innovation in New Zealand, rather than forcing our scientists to do their work in the States, we must liberalise our archaic genetic engineering (GE) laws,” says ACT’s Research, Science and Innovation spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar.

“ACT’s coalition agreement commits to liberalising GE laws. This is desperately needed to ensure we can make scientific advancements while having a clearly regulated framework that mitigates risk. Crucially, the regulation needs to be proportionate to risk.

“Australia modernised its laws in October 2019. We risk being left behind if we don’t do the same.

“For example, innovations like AgResearch’s High Metabolisable Energy ryegrass, which has the potential to reduce livestock methane emissions by around 15 per cent and ensure less nitrogen is excreted into the environment, are illegal here.

“We look forward to liberalising New Zealand’s archaic laws on genetic engineering and allowing our scientists to be leaders, not laggards.”

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