Australian experience with herbicide tolerant (HT) and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton

Abstract

Australia’s nationally consistent framework for gene technology regulation is underpinned by the Gene Technology Act 2000, administered by an independent decision-maker, the Gene Technology Regulator. The object of the Act is “to protect the health and safety of people, and to protect the environment, by identifying risks posed by or as a result of gene technology, and by managing those risks through regulating certain dealings with genetically modified organisms”. Marketing and trade impacts are outside the scope of assessments required by the Act. Since 2001, seven licences have been issued for the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) cotton with insect resistance and/or herbicide tolerance. Licences have also been issued for 32 GM cotton field trials with a broader range of traits. The decisions to grant licences for the environmental release of GM cottons require the preparation of Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plans (RARMPs) which apply the Regulator’s Risk Analysis Framework, based on internationally recognised standards and incorporating risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. In addition, licences for commercial release carry provisions for targeted surveillance if specific factors are identified in the risk assessment. More than 90 % of the Australian cotton crop is now planted with GM cotton varieties. No adverse effects to the health of people or the environment have been reported to date and no conditions for specific surveillance invoked. Information on the Australian regulatory system for gene technology, the Risk Analysis Framework, RARMPs and licences, is publicly available on the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator website at www.ogtr.gov.au.