Country delegation warns of pesticide disaster

Thursday, 07 May 1998 10:00

"We will remind the Government that it made a commitment to act on pesticide pollution as an election promise, and to date it has done little to honour that commitment. We want the antiquated Pesticides Act amended this Parliamentary session to ensure all of the issues that communities in the country and city have raised about pesticides are addressed," said Jo Immig, Chemicals Campaigner, Total Environment Centre.

"Hot spots where pesticide disasters have intensified such as Gunnedah, Byron Shire, Coffs Harbour & Mudgee, serve to illustrate the extent of the pesticide problem across NSW. Unfortunately the Government's softly softly approach of 'putting out spot fires' with local mediation processes just doesn't cut it.

Pesticides are poisons, designed to kill, and we shouldn't be at the mercy of industry and some flimsy, non-enforceable agreements, to protect us and the environment from chemical trespass,' said Margaret Mercer, Chair, Gunnedah Environment Group.
 
"Pesticide pollution has been put in the too hard basket by politicians for too long. The fact is, the NSW Farmer's Association and the corporates don't represent the whole farming community - far from it, there are thousands of country, farm and town folk who want to see something done about pesticide regulation," Bev Smiles, Co-ordinator, Mudgee District Environment Foundation said.
 
"We shouldn't have to be on constant 'red alert' during intensive spraying seasons to protect our children from aerial pesticide sprays while they wait for the school bus or sit in schools, it's a basic right which should be enforced. At the moment, a banana or cotton plant has more rights than a child who should be protected from pesticide pollution. If our kids were commodities bound for the European market, protection would have been implemented long ago," said Kathy Vail, concerned parent from Middle Pocket .

"It's high time the government took action to seriously address pesticide pollution issues. There are matters of health as well as rural and agricultural policies and the green clean image of our food," concluded Don Want, North Coast Toxin Action Group.