Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to hail a modern-day hero who resisted the bullying of the multinational Green movement. Michael Baxter is a humble farmer from the Shire of Kojonup in the heart of my electorate of O'Connor. In May 2010, Michael planted a crop of Roundup Ready canola which had been genetically modified to be tolerant to the chemical glyphosate, an environmentally safe, broad-spectrum herbicide that controls weeds such as rye-grass which have developed resistance to many existing herbicides. Mr Baxter was able to utilise this management technique because in January 2010 the Western Australia government passed an exemption to the GM Crops Free Areas Act 2003. Finally, after many years of watching our eastern states counterparts benefit from the agronomic and economic improvements of GM technology, WA growers had access to this revolutionary technology.

But not everybody welcomed the decision to allow WA growers access to the best technology that plant breeding has to offer. The environmental industry, led by Greenpeace, has constantly attacked the science of biotechnology, even going so far as to break into a CSIRO facility and destroy GM crop trials. These modern-day Luddites have never offered a shred of evidence that GM crops, which have been grown around the world since the mid-1990s, have caused any health or environmental damage. In fact, it could be well argued that GM technology has massively reduced the use of herbicides and pesticides in the world's maize, sorghum and cotton crops. Alongside the green movement were their fellow travellers in the organic industry, who were vociferous in their threats against farmers who were unfortunate enough to farm in the vicinity of a member of the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia.

In late November 2010, Michael Baxter swathed his canola crop according to district practices. During the following weeks, wind blew a small number of stalks into his neighbour Steve Marsh's property, causing him to lose the right to market his cereal and lamb as NASAA certified organic, incurring substantial financial loss. Mr Marsh finally instituted legal action against Michael Baxter in 2012, seeking damages of $85,000 and being represented pro bono by high-profile law firm Slater & Gordon. Interestingly, Mr Marsh was also supported by the Safe Food Foundation, who claim to have raised $750,000 to assist with his case. Given the value of the pro bono legal advice and the $750,000 raised by the Safe Food Foundation to recover an $85,000 damages claim, it is obvious this case was always politically motivated to intimidate Western Australian farmers considering growing GM canola. Michael Baxter stood firm in the face of legal intimidation, a media smear campaign led by experts such as celebrity surfers, and industry organisations who were urging him to settle so the bad publicity would just go away.

I am pleased to report that on 28 May in the Supreme Court of WA Justice Martin found that Michael Baxter's conduct in planting Roundup Ready canola was entirely lawful. The evidence overwhelmingly supported that Roundup Ready canola is an entirely benign subject matter. Mr Marsh did not even attempt to claim that Roundup Ready seeds were toxic, harmful or otherwise dangerous to humans or animals, or the land. Sound science supports that Roundup Ready canola does not impose—

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