Australia’s gene technology regulations were established in 2001 and are way behind the science – so the government decided to update them

The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes thought this was a splendid idea, “new technological developments have meant the previous regulations have become outdated, leading to ambiguity and confusion as to what is and is not regulated.”

Not so The Greens. Senator Janet Rice  urged the Senate to vote against the changes, saying they would allow potentially dangerous deregulation, “and poses huge economic risks to Australia’s $48 billion agricultural export industries.”

To which Labor’s Kim Carr said the Senate should not leave the exist regulations in place; “if we want to build an enlightened future for this country, a future that does not reject science.”

The Senate went with him – voting Thursday 42 -13 to adopt the new regulations. The Greens, South Australians Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff, plus Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts voted to leave the existing regs in place. The Coalition and Labor for change.