Letters to the editor - Feb 4

Yet that will be the fate of SA growers who choose to grow Roundup-tolerant genetically-modified canola.

When lifting the GM crop ban, Grain Producers SA and Primary Industries Minister David Basham always claimed that GM-free crops do not earn a premium.

But grain handlers are already quoting a discount of $45 a tonne for GM canola varieties at all of the state's regional silos - Tailem Bend, Loxton, Pinnaroo and Millicent - before the season has even begun.

The other penalties of growing GM varieties include higher seed technology user fees, more stringent segregation rules and compliance costs, and extra transport and segregation imposts.

GPSA (PPSA column, Stock Journal, January 28) also notes that GM crop growers must enter and pass an accreditation course prior to buying any seed, and sign stewardship agreements and contracts. The seed companies want to maintain control.

What GPSA didn't say is that GM seed contracts also transfer liability from the corporate seed patent owners onto GM growers, making them liable when segregation fails and GM contamination occurs.

Farmers are left to fight each other over GM pollution while the company walks away scot-free.

The Marshall government should have enacted a Farmer Protection Fund before lifting the GM ban. The fund would be created from a small levy on all GM seed sales.

Any GM-free farmer, landholder or food industry business that suffers economic loss or harm from GM contamination would then be automatically compensated, without having to sue in the courts.

Most farmers will never grow GM crops and they deserve unqualified protection.

The Climate Council's 2019 report Compound Costs: How Climate Change is Damaging Australia's Economy estimated that by the year 2030, Australia's property market was expected to lose $571 billion in value due to climate change, with one in every 19 property owners being unable to afford insurance premiums.

Now we see insurance companies beginning to price for climate change risks for their customers.

It will be just a matter of time before property values for high climate risk areas begin to plummet. What is next?

We have so much to lose, including our homes, if nothing is done to address climate change.

The federal government needs to step up and develop effective climate policies to safeguard the interests of all Australians.

We simply cannot afford to do nothing anymore.

It is extremely disappointing to note that Australians are expending $17 million each week on processed pork, mainly from the United States and Denmark, given that these same items, while more expensive, are produced locally and provide ongoing employment opportunities.

The same situation is evident across a number of Australian primary industries, with the seafood, vegetable, fruit and even the fresh flower industries also having to compete unfairly with overseas imports.

Labelling of items for sale, which indicates the country of origin and how much was produced locally, obviously needs to become more prominent, to ensure greater consumer awareness.

I recognise the need to have a balanced import and export program, but surely our imports should be mainly made up of items that are not currently available or are not produced in Australia.

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