The Government will not be able to strike out GE-free areas set up by councils under an agreement between National and the Maori Party. As a condition of its support, the Maori Party demanded a "carve-out" for genetic modification which would allow regional authorities to declare their areas GE-free. Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox said the provision had deliberately been drafted so that it covered pastures and trees. The Maori Party had conceded an own goal in its deal with National, he said. Soil and Health New Zealand, which lobbied for the GMO provisions, welcomed the RMA changes secured by the Maori Party but said they did not go far enough.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 05, 2017 05:15 UTC