Mel Gibson has waded into a legislative dispute most Hollywood figures would never touch, and it turns out he is not doing it alone. Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who built his career competing at 185 pounds (84 kg), gave the actor a public boost this week by reposting his message with a simple caption: “thanks Mel.”
The video at the center of it all shows Gibson addressing New Zealanders directly about legislation moving through Parliament that he says represents the most significant overhaul of the country’s biotech and environmental rules in close to three decades.
He said, “Hello, New Zealand. Your Parliament is considering some of the biggest changes to your country’s biotech and environmental laws in nearly 30 years. The Gene Technology Bill, along with proposed changes to the HSNO and ACVM Acts, would completely reshape how gene technology is regulated.”
He pointed to the Gene Technology Bill, along with proposed amendments to the HSNO and ACVM Acts, as changes that would fundamentally alter how genetic engineering is regulated in New Zealand, replacing the current framework, standing up a new regulator, and shifting toward risk-based approvals that would let some technologies deemed low-risk skip stricter scrutiny altogether.
Gibson was careful to frame his comments as those of an outsider rather than an expert weighing in with authority. He acknowledged supporters see real upside in the reforms, arguing they could open doors for advances in science, medicine and agriculture. But he also flagged the concerns critics have raised, namely that the changes could cut down on public oversight and narrow the consultation process for decisions that touch food production, farming and the environment.
Gibson stated, “The changes would replace the current GE framework, create a new GE regulator, and introduce risk-based approvals, exempting some technologies considered low-risk. Supporters believe these reforms could help advance science, medicine and agriculture, but critics warn they could reduce public oversight and limit consultation on decisions affecting your food, farms and environment.”
His message to viewers was less about picking a side and more about urging people to get informed, read the actual bills, ask questions and reach out to their MPs before anything gets locked in.
Gibson said, “Whatever your view, it’s important to understand what’s at stake. Read the bills, ask questions, contact your MP and make sure your voice is heard before a decision is made. Because if the bill changes, you’ll all live with the consequences.”
He closed by noting that whatever New Zealanders decide, they are the ones who will live with the outcome, and he signed off simply sending his support to people in New Zealand.
That message landed just as advocacy group GE Free New Zealand was making its own case against the legislation. According to sources, the organization published a press release on September 9 titled “High Risk Reckless GMO Pesticide Bills Must Be Withdrawn,” which Scoop carried the following morning. The timing was pointed, coming just ahead of the scheduled second reading of the HSNO and ACVM amendment bills on September 17.
GE Free NZ’s argument centers on what it sees as a weakening of protections that currently exist around genetically engineered organisms and pesticides. The group contends the changes could leave farmers, growers, food manufacturers and everyday consumers with fewer safeguards against genetic engineering contamination and pesticide drift.
Under the current system, the HSNO Act is administered by the Environmental Protection Authority and covers environmental and human health risks tied to pesticides, while the ACVM Act falls under the Ministry for Primary Industries and deals with pesticide safety, worker health effects and residue limits in plants and animals.
Part of what concerns the group is a claim that the EPA has already approved 102 new experimental pesticides for glasshouse and field trials without disclosing what is actually in them. GE Free NZ suspects that some of these experimental products may rely on synthetic double-stranded RNA, a technology the EPA has classified as non-GM. The organization argues that RNA-based pesticides have the potential to interfere with biological processes not just in target pests but in organisms that were never meant to be affected.
Claire Bleakley, president of GE Free NZ, did not hold back in her assessment of the HSNO report. “The HSNO report has tweaked the edges ignoring the risks and signals the intent to introduce the reckless permissive industry written Gene Technology Bill,” she said. She also framed the stakes in political terms, adding, “Ensuring there is legislation protecting the ability to farm without GE contamination or pesticide drift will be a major issue for this election.”
Dr Dommisse, also quoted in the release, raised a more technical objection about the gaps in the current drafting. “Given that HSNO and ACVM amendment Bills lack the guidelines for safety for the environment, health or economic impacts, the EPA and MPI cannot effectively manage or assess risks that are still unknown,” the statement read.
The group’s overall position leaves little room for compromise. As the release put it, “Novel pesticides and Genetically engineered organisms (GE) are a threat to New Zealand Agriculture and the HSNO and ACVM Amendment Bills should be withdrawn immediately.”
