The Gene Technology Bill
Will NZ become the GE playground of the world?
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A. Introduction
The Gene Technology Bill passed its first reading just before Christmas. The bill is now before the Health Select Committee. The closing date for public submissions is 11.59pm on Monday, 17 February 2025.
What NZDSOS says about this bill in their article: Deadline—Speak Out Against the NZ Gene Technology Bill.
‘The Gene Technology Bill introduces sweeping changes to the governance of gene technologies and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), threatening the safety and integrity of our medicine and food systems. Doctors and scientists alike are gravely concerned that the science supporting the safety of GMOs remains incomplete and in its infancy.’
B. Concerns
If You Want to be subjected to the following 15 features associated with the bill, do nothing; OTHERWISE, do what you can to help stop this bill. Suggestions and templates are listed below (See E).
If you want to eat GE food without your knowledge or consent (labelling is NOT mentioned once in the bill—in his article The Gene Technology Bill Has Exposed a Knowledge Deficit at the Heart of the NZ Parliamentary Process, Guy Hatchard refers to MP Judith Collins as saying they [people] can opt in or opt out; however, that statement is deceptive as the public will be required to opt in because they will no longer be able to find out whether they are buying, eating or being prescribed biotech products),
if you want to eat GE food or use GE products that have not been tested for safety (broad categories of GE techniques will be exempt from any regulation, thus ignoring the precautionary principle—humans, animal and the environment will be put at risk),
if you want NZ to be the GE capitol of the world (every Tom, Dick and Harry will be coming here to do GE experimentation as the government wants to deregulate techniques of gene editing that have not been deregulated anywhere else in the world—listen to this short clip from this RCR interview with Dr Jack Heinemann, a Geneticist Professor from Canterbury University),
if you want non-target organisms including humans to be exposed to genome editing (as stated in this scientific paper coauthored by Prof. Jack Heinemann: Exposure to CRISPR/Cas pesticide could unintentionally alter the genomes of an assortment of non-target organisms),
if you want the government to use your taxes to help fund GE projects that will likely never be commercially viable (because of the reason pointed out by Dr Jack Heinemann in this clip from the same RCR interview mentioned above),
if you want the government to destroy NZ's clean, green image (NZ produce is sought after because we are GE free),
if you want self-replicating vaccines (the GE regulator will be mandated to approve these if approved by two recognized overseas regulators and if he considers they will not cause SEVERE harm—see The Dark Side of Innovation: Self-Replicating Vaccines and Their Dangers for EU Citizens—from the article: Japan approved similar injections last year... during the Phase 3b trials for Kostaive, five deaths were reported, and a staggering 90% of participants experienced harmful side effects... and despite this, in the EU, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion recommending the market authorization of Kostaive—perhaps they did not consider the side-effects severe enough or perhaps they considered them all coinsidences),
if you want the potential of the door being opened to covert vaccination where you will be injected/vaccinated against your will and knowledge (such as via your food supply, or via aerosolized vaccines or via insect-vaccinators like mosquitoes, see Flying Vaccinators are very Real...Bill Gates's Mosquito Army Exposed or here for a clip— what will be the off-target effects—what other life will be affected by eating these GE insects or plants etc?),
if you want the regulator and others to be granted immunity from civil and criminal liability (as they shoulder no responsibility, they will have nothing to lose if they pander to industry or are wilfully blind because of conflicts of interest),
if you want to trust the regulator (from RCR news: Australia's vaccine regulator received over $45 million from Covid vaccine manufacturers over the last 5 years— Senator Malcolm Roberts on X),
if you want councils to lose their right to represent locals if they do not want GE growing in their backyard i.e., there will be NO GE-free growing areas in NZ (so our democracy is trampled on and it puts all of NZ at risk—there will be no safer zones when something goes wrong or GE free zones to protect NON-GMO export markets),
if you want your taxes wasted on helping to fund risky GE projects (as history has proven, most GE projects fail—the NZ Institute of Economic Research reported in their analysis: Lessons from the actual experience of gene technology worldwide, in which a small number of crops are used for low-value purposes and many products—even ones that are fully scientifically developed and not subject to additional regulation—fail to be successfully commercialised),
if you want NZ's booming organic industry to be harmed by GE contamination and by the added costs of having to prove their produce is GE free,
if you want to believe the regulators and government, even though they did get almost everything wrong about the mRNA vaccine; initially without any proof, they told us it stayed at the injection site, it didn't; they told us it would stop transmission, it didn't; they told us it would stop us getting Covid 19, it didn't; they told us vaccine-induced myocarditis was mild, it isn't as heart damage is never mild and the list goes on and on,
if you want New Zealanders exposed to unknown Health Risks.
C. A Better Way
The government needs to listen to alternate viewpoints before they destroy what is so great about NZ.
Listen to Jack Heinemann explain what NZ does best—a clip from the same interview mentioned above.
Also listen to Prof Antoniou in this clip copied from GE & NZ'S National Party.
D. Conclusion
We are a small, geographically isolated nation and are therefore in a unique position to protect our shores from GE contamination.
Guy Hatchard sums up the effect of GE biotechnology in a few words in his article Waking Up from the Dream of Biotechnology.
‘It [NZ government] has introduced the Gene Technology Bill which contains by far the most permissive legislation of any country in the world. At last New Zealand really is leading the world (perhaps in cupidity and stupidity). Its clauses contain all the pips and whistles most needed by transnational corporates—no criminal or civil liability for facilitators, no labelling of products, foods, and medicines required (the public won’t even know), provision for government mandated approval (yes, it has that magic word ‘mandate” which is music to the corporate ears), ability to fiddle to your heart’s content with the DNA of animals, microbes plants, adults and children, no messy ethics, public watch dogs or testing requirements—simply apply to the one stop regulator for a rubber stamp.’
E. Letters, Submissions and Discussions
There are many concerning features about this bill. So if you do not want any of the 15 points mentioned above etc., please share your concerns with members of parliament, alert as many people as you can to the dangers associated with this bill and begin writing your submission.
Here are some great sites to visit to get great ideas and information for letter content, discussions and submissions.
RCR: Say NO to GMOs. Reject The Government's Reckless Gene Technology Bill.
‘If you allow this ‘deregulation' bill to exist, it will enable widespread genetic modification of New Zealand's food, soil, medicine, and therapeutics, exposing everyone to unmeasured, potentially catastrophic harm…Your silence will be seen as consent. Speak up before it's too late.’
RCR provide a Government Feedback template, step-by-step video walkthrough, shareables, printable poster and more.
Gary Moller's pertinent article Act Immediately Because This Bill Undermines Your Freedom and Autonomy! includes Dr Guy Hatchard's must-view, eye-opening video The Gene technology Bill. What Kiwis Need To Know. Gary has included a letter template to send to MPs.
Guy Hatchard’s Submission Template.
In this article Analysis of Misinformation in the Gene Technology Bill and Suggestions for Submissions and Discussions, Guy lists key point to emphasize in submissions and discussions with others.
In Waking Up from the Dream of Biotechnology, Guy lists the GE success stories. I see none that has solved a problem or benefited humanity—none have improved nutrition or well-being. GE herbicide resistant crops are doused in herbicide, which, by the way, is closely linked to cancer. The mRNA shots were only a great success story for those who made truckloads of money. As Guy says:
‘Not only is it possible to create a totally new deadly disease but also share it through a crack in the lab door with the entire world’s population. And it doesn’t stop there, you can also create, sell and profit from a vaccine which doesn’t work and actually harms a great many people. There is no liability whatsoever if you do so...’
GE Free Action Template—a sample letter for MPs.
Scoop printed a press release by GE Free NZ worth reading. It includes a great summary of what the bill includes and who the biggest losers are—i.e. farmers, exporters, consumers, animals, and nature.
Join NZDSOS mailing list to get their new Weekly SOS Newsletter to keep you up to date on what is going on. Read their recent article Deadline—Speak Out Against the NZ Gene Technology Bill. Includes help on submissions.
View previous Flag n Fix Posts on GE—Card: GE, NZ First: A WOW and WOE Week, GE & NZ’s National Party, GE Contamination, and FSANZ: Friend or Foe.