The best time to deal with a disaster is before it happens. It is also the easiest and the least expensive.

The application before government to genetically modify pinus radiata (ERMA200479), which was discussed at the Forest Owners Conference in Wellington last Monday, could result in a stronger timber.

On the other hand there is the slight risk of our major building material acquiring unpredictable characteristics and becoming uncertain in quality.

The risk of failure is not great. The implications however are beyond imagination. Leaky homes could come to be seen as just the entrée before the main course.

The precautionary principle was introduced by the RMA in 1991. It suggests that if the forestry industry feels it would have been a brighter idea to have planted lawson cypress rather than pinus radiata then it is never too late to begin making a change.

Making one mistake is a poor reason for justifying another.

Tony Watkins

Karaka Bay

First published in the New Zealand Herald 14 October 2010