Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in this chamber to speak on an important matter, following disturbing reports in the media last night about the chemical glyphosate. This chemical is the active ingredient found in broad-spectrum herbicides and weedkillers and is often used both commercially and domestically. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup, a well-known and well-used product in homes around Australia. I worked closely with the US National Academy of Sciences as an expert reviewer on their report on GMO, on this very issue. There are significant concerns about the effects on humans and the long-reaching effects on the environment, including the effects of prolonged use on soil, that remain undetermined. In fact, such are the risks of glyphosate that the IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has listed the chemical as probably carcinogenic in humans.

Following recent court cases and verdicts in America, it is becoming clearer that glyphosate poses a much larger risk than first realised, although further research is required. It is vitally important that this chemical does not shape our history in devastating ways like tobacco, thalidomide and asbestos have. Therefore we should be alert and remain concerned. When this chemical was first released, the maker of Roundup, Monsanto, was widely using it. We need to be careful.