The organisers of last week's protest rally at Parliament House attacking the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops into WA claim it was a resounding success.
About 1000 protestors turned out for the rally organised by the Conservation Council of WA.
A banner announcing "Keep WA GM free" was carried along the main streets of Perth, with a modest police escort leading the crowd as it made its way from The Esplanade to the front entrance of Parliament.
The banner was carried by a number of high profile anti-GM campaigners including Newdegate grower and Network of Concerned Farmers spokesperson Julie Newman, conservationist and former ABC TV Gardening Australia host Peter Cudnall and environmental scientist and organic gardener Josh Byrne.
A mixed crowd turned out for the event with men, women and children from a wide range of age groups and demographics waving placards and marching to voice their concerns over the unknown health and environmental impacts of bringing GM technology into WA.
The only incident of note during the mostly peaceful demonstration came when Agriculture Minister Terry Redman was invited to speak on the steps of Parliament during the closing stages of the rally.
Mr Redman attracted hostile jeering from the banner-waving crowd after announcing he had instructed the Agriculture Department to find a way forward for the commercial release of GM cotton in the Ord River.
The shouting intensified when he also announced the department had been instructed to find a way forward with the introduction of commercial GM canola trials into WA next year.
The crowd roared to a stirring speech from Mr Cundall who described GM as a "perverted science".
"The whole thing is driven by nothing more than sheer greed, that's what it's all about," he said.
Full story in this week's Farm Weekly.
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