2-Plants: Australian green and indigenous groups say no to huge GMCotton project

[GENET <coordination@genet-info.org>]

                                  PART I
-------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  Greens are lying
SOURCE: The Kimberley Echo, Australia
        http://members.westnet.com.au/kimecho/archive/2004/20040715/
        story5.html
DATE:   15 Jul 2004

------------------- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ -------------------


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   "On the other hand the water that it is proposed to use in this
    project is water that is about to be lost to the sea."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Greens are lying

Independent MLC John Fischer has claimed the recent comments from the
Conservation Foundation about genetically modified (GM) cotton trials
were dishonest and misleading. "I was concerned and astounded when I read
it, but after immediately checking with the Minister's office I was
assured that the government was still considering the renewal of the
Memorandum of Understanding. "There can be no doubt whatsoever that there
was overwhelming support for the motion moved by myself in the
Legislative Council," he said. He motion was: "That this House request
the State Government to support feasibility studies relating to the
establishment of a cotton industry in WA." "It is obvious to most that a
feasibility study of the required proportion would determine the benefits
of the proposed development to the Kimberley both in job opportunity and
infrastructure development." Mr Fischer said that it was absolute
nonsense for the Conservation Foundation to raise unnecessary fears in
the community about GM cotton when over half the world's cotton was
already genetically modified and the percentage was growing every
planting. This had been the case for well over a decade and it had led to
substantial environmental improvement as the use of insecticide and
herbicides had been dramatically reduced. "Pat Lowe, Marie Mann and Don
Henry, are exposed as environmental hypocrites because they know that
this project has the capability to substantially reduce the water demands
on the Darling River, which will make a big contribution to restoring the
flow to the Murray Darling System that is currently under a lot of
stress." Mr. Fischer said. "On the other hand the water that it is
proposed to use in this project is water that is about to be lost to the
sea." "While it is true that Environs Kimberley, together with the
Kimberley Land Council, has been able to misinform and cajole some of the
traditional owners, there is a substantial body of Aboriginal opinion
that supports the project, because they realise the need for real jobs
for their children." "By putting words into the mouth of government and
claiming support for their selfish and irresponsible actions, the
Conservation Council and Environs Australia are attempting to manipulate
the State Government into doing their bidding. "Given the craven way in
which the Government has buckled to the Greens in the past, it is a
policy that may well work." Mr. Fischer said. 


                                  PART II
-------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  West Kimberley GM Cotton Project Would Almost Double State's
        Annual Water Use
SOURCE: Australian Conservation Foundation, and Environs Kimberley
        http://www.environskimberley.org.au/media_release.htm
DATE:   1 Jul 2004

------------------- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ -------------------


Conservationists Congratulate State Government on Decision Not to Re-sign
Cotton MOU

Environs Kimberley and the Australian Conservation Foundation have
welcomed news that the State Government has no immediate plans to re-sign
a Memorandum of Understanding with GM Cotton proponent Western
Agricultural Industries, which expired yesterday. State Development
Minister Clive Brown told ABC regional radio this morning that the
government had "no time-line" for plans to sign another MOU and was
concerned that the area's Traditional Owners were not in favour of the
cotton proposal. Mr Brown also expressed reservations about the project's
water use and its use of GM crops. Spokesperson for Environs Kimberley
Pat Lowe said her group congratulated the Minister and the Government for
listening to the people of the Kimberley who had fought the project for
more than six years. "Although the project is still on the agenda, we
take heart in the fact that the State Government is expressing
reservations about the whole thing," Ms Lowe said. "The people of the
Kimberley clearly do not want this project. The area's Traditional Owners
have said 'No' so many times they are sick of saying it. "This is a
project that would double the State's annual water use, clear 200,000
hectares of valuable Pindan woodland and introduce a genetically modified
crop into a near pristine environment. "In opting not to re-sign the MOU
the State Government is at last hearing the will of the local people and
thinking again about a seriously flawed project. "We hope that the State
Government will continue to listen and will put an end to this proposal
for good." ACF Executive Director Don Henry applauded the Minister's
comments saying the State Government was signalling that it was hearing
the concerns of the Traditional Owners and the wider Kimberley community.
"The project if given the go-ahead would change the environment of the
west Kimberley and the Fitzroy River forever," Mr Henry said. "With the
proposal now on the backburner the State Government has a golden
opportunity to develop a sustainable, environmentally and culturally
sensitive alternative vision for the Kimberley based on full and open
public consultation."

For further information contact: Pat Lowe (08) 9193 5079 or Maria Mann
(08) 9192 1922/ 0427
935052 or Don Henry 0418 501395


                                  PART III
-------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  Green & Indigenous Groups Say No to GM Cotton in the West Kimberley
SOURCE: Australian Conservation Foundation, the Conservation Council of WA,
        the Kimberley Land Council, Environs Kimberley, the Wilderness
        Society and WWF Australia
        http://www.environskimberley.org.au/media_release.htm
DATE:   25 Jun 2004

------------------- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ -------------------


Green & Indigenous Groups Say No to GM Cotton in the West Kimberley

A coalition of local, state and national environment and Aboriginal
groups joined forces today to call on the State Government to immediately
drop plans for a broadacre GM cotton industry in the west Kimberley. The
coalition includes the Australian Conservation Foundation, the
Conservation Council of WA, the Kimberley Land Council, Environs
Kimberley, the Wilderness Society and WWF Australia. In a joint statement
the groups said plans to develop a 200,000-hectare GM cotton industry
near Broome were unsustainable and inappropriate. Coalition member Maria
Mann from Environs Kimberley said the broadacre cotton proposal currently
being considered by State Cabinet would have a disastrous environmental
and social impact on the Kimberley. "Every way you look at this proposal
it makes no sense. It is against the wishes of the area's traditional
owners, it will double the State's total annual water consumption, it
will clear 200,000 hectares of prime bilby habitat and it is based on a
genetically modified crop already raising concerns in scientific circles
for its environmental impact," Ms Mann said. "The State Government is
currently deciding whether to give the go-ahead for further feasibility
studies on this proposal. It is expected to make an announcement within
days. "This coalition of environmental and Aboriginal groups representing
well over 170,000 members nationwide calls on the State Government to say
no to any further feasibility studies into this ludicrous proposal.
"Rather than continuing with the flawed proposal we call on the
Government to initiate a full and open public consultation process to
determine a future vision for the Kimberley that is environmentally,
culturally and economically sustainable."

For further information contact: Maria Mann 042 793 5052/ (08) 9192 1922


                                  PART IV
-------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  West Kimberley GM Cotton Project Would Almost Double State's
        Annual Water Use
SOURCE: Australian Conservation Foundation, and Environs Kimberley
        http://www.environskimberley.org.au/media_release.htm
DATE:   15 Jun 2004

------------------- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ -------------------


West Kimberley GM Cotton Project Would Almost Double State's Annual Water Use

Western Australia would use nearly twice the amount of water it currently
consumes every year if a proposal to develop a 200,000 hectare GM cotton
industry in the west Kimberley is given the goahead, Environs Kimberley
and the Australian Conservation Foundation warned today. Coordinator of
Environs Kimberley Maria Mann said figures contained in the cotton
proponent's original expression of interest indicated that the proposed
broad-acre cotton industry would need at least 1,600 GL/year to support
around 200,000 ha of GM cotton. "Compare this with the total rate of
water consumption in the state of Western Australia, which is around
1,800 GL/year, and we have some idea of just how much water this industry
needs. We just can't see the sense in the government supporting a
proposal to clear a large swathe of the semi-arid west Kimberley and
replace it with a heavy water using crop," Ms Mann said. "The requirement
for so much water will necessitate the construction of massive storage
facilities. The original proposal included plans for several dams on the
Fitzroy River but a public outcry forced the proponents (Western
Agricultural Industries) to back away from that idea. "WAI have told us
they won't need to dam the Fitzroy River but their math just doesn't add
up. They have refused to provide us with details of their current plan
for 'harvesting water' and 'aquifer recharge'. We just cannot stand by
and watch as one of the nation's last wild rivers is sacrificed for an
industry that clearly has no place in the region. "The proposal plans to
suck out 95 per cent of the available groundwater but that would account
for, at best, 190G/L per annum, a little more than ten per cent of the
required total. "To put this project in perspective 1600 GL/y is
equivalent to more than 40 Serpentine Dams." ACF spokesperson Dr Rosemary
Hill said to introduce a high water using crop to the west Kimberley was
inappropriate and unsustainable. "In Perth you have water restrictions
and talk of the need to fast track the development of a $350 million
desalination plant and at the same time the State Government is looking
at an industry that will almost double the state's water consumption," Dr
Hill said. "What can possibly be good about this proposal. The
traditional owners of the country have clearly said they do not want it.
It will clear 200,000 ha of remnant Pindan woodland, home to the
endangered bilby. It will sow massive fields of genetically modified
plants and it will nearly double the State's annual water consumption.
What is the State Government thinking?"

For further information contact: Maria Mann (08) 9192 1922/ 0427 935052
or Dr Rosemary Hill 0428 335296/ (07) 4051 3892


                                  PART V
-------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  Cotton Proposal Will Bulldoze more than 200,000 ha of Prime Bilby
        Habitat
SOURCE: Australian Conservation Foundation
        http://www.acfonline.org.au/asp/pages/document.asp?IdDoc=1975
DATE:   3 Jun 2004 

------------------- archive: http://www.genet-info.org/ -------------------


Cotton Proposal Will Bulldoze more than 200,000 ha of Prime Bilby Habitat

A proposal to develop a cotton industry in the west Kimberley would mean
the clearing of more than 200,000 hectares of Pindan woodland, one of the
last habitats of the endangered Bilby, Environs Kimberley and the
Australian Conservation Foundation warned today. Spokesperson for
Environs Kimberley Pat Lowe said the proposal, if given the go-ahead,
would cut a swathe across the Kimberley replacing native bushland with
broadscale agriculture in a 500 kilometre long arc from 80 Mile Beach
south of Broome to the Fitzroy River near Derby. "The scale of this
proposal is enormous. It would mean the clearing of an area more than 500
times the size of Perth's Kings Park or more than 2 million quarter acre
suburban blocks," Ms Lowe said. "The State Government is currently
considering renewing a Memorandum of Understanding with the proponent,
Western Agricultural Industries, for the continuation of feasibility
studies into this outrageous proposal. This is despite the fact that the
traditional owners of the land have repeatedly voiced their opposition to
the project and to any further feasibility studies on their land. "The
west Kimberley is one of the last strongholds of the endangered Bilby
(Macrotis largotis) - a gentle burrowing animal, once found throughout
Australia. The Bilby needs the Pindan woodlands if its species is to
survive. To clear in excess of 200,000 hectares of this valuable habitat
and replace it with a genetically modified, heavy water using, pesticide
dependent monoculture would be pure lunacy. "Does Dr Gallop want to be
remembered by Australian children every Easter as the premier who
hastened the demise of the Bilby? " "We call on the State Government to
pull the plug on this proposal right now and to put in place a
consultative planning process for the development of sustainable
employment generating industries in the Kimberley." Spokesperson for the
Australian Conservation Foundation Dr Rosemary Hill said the cotton
proposal was a totally inappropriate land use for the Kimberley. "Habitat
loss is the greatest environmental threat facing northern Australia. To
put this proposal in perspective the Ord River scheme near Kununurra
irrigates a total of 13,000 ha of agricultural land. This proposal is 15
times bigger and will suck 95 per cent of the available groundwater from
the La Grange Basin resulting in incalculable environmental damage," Dr
Hill said. "The State and Federal governments need to act to put a stop
to any proposal to clear such a large area of land particularly when that
clearing threatens the survival of a species."




--


GENET
European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering

Hartmut MEYER (Mr)
Kleine Wiese 6
D - 38116 Braunschweig
Germany

P: +49-531-5168746
F: +49-531-5168747
M: +49-162-1054755
E: coordination(*)genet-info.org
W: <http://www.genet-info.org>



-----------------------------
   GENET-news mailing list   
-----------------------------