00:02A relief for farmers, a blow for opponents.
00:06The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority imposing tough new restrictions
00:11on how and where paraquat can be used, but stopping short of a ban.
00:17We've gone backwards a little bit, but we're in a much better position today than we were
00:20yesterday knowing that we can actually still potentially buy the product and use it.
00:26Paraquat is used to kill weeds on grain farms and in fruit and vegetable production.
00:32It's banned in more than 70 countries but remains in use in major food producing nations, including
00:38the United States.
00:40Australian farmers say it's an essential tool, but some studies link paraquat to Parkinson's
00:46disease.
00:47I'm feeling disappointed that the Australian farming community and people surrounding those
00:52communities and golfing areas are still in danger and our government hasn't protected
00:58them.
00:58The regulator says there's no evidence approved use of paraquat increases the risk of Parkinson's
01:04disease, but has introduced stricter safety equipment and handling rules and lower application
01:10rates.
01:11We are looking at higher cost of weed control for farmers with poorer levels of weed control,
01:16which in turn could then result in lower profitability and lower productivity down the track.
01:22Paraquat is one of the absolute cornerstones of our conservation farming system.
01:27It enables us to conserve moisture, to retain soil structure and to reduce emissions and erosion.
01:34Chemical manufacturer Syngenta says it's assessing the impact of the new restrictions on its product
01:40range.
01:46There is also a lot of indigenous forest shops which are hadi, however, that we are
01:47affected by the new limits.
