Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough current evidence to say glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – was capable of causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans.
That was the allegation of the class action, led by Maurice Blackburn and including more than 800 Australian cancer patients.
Justice Lee only needed to consider the question of general causation – not the specific claims of lead applicant Kelvin McNickle or the other class action group members.
Justice Lee ordered the proceedings be dismissed.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup’s producer Monsanto in 2018, has previously stated glyphosate-based herbicides have been rigorously tested in hundreds of studies and it is safe when used as directed.
One of the firm’s lawyers Lee Taylor said they would review Justice Lee’s Thursday decision before deciding on their next steps.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup’s producer Monsanto in 2018, welcomed the ruling and described it as a win for farmers.
“These products support farmers in doing what they do best – putting food on the tables of Australians,” managing director Warren Inwood said.
Justice Lee only needed to consider the question of general causation – not the specific claims of lead applicant Kelvin McNickle or the other class action group members.
The judge said the science was “not all one way” and some of the expert witnesses conceded there were possible links between glyphosate and cancer in humans.
But he ruled on the state of the evidence, and on the balance of probabilities, he could not determine there was a causal link between Roundup and cancer.
CropLife Australia welcomed the ruling, saying it was in line with every scientific regulatory authority.
“Aside from the overwhelming amount of scientific data, there are decades of lived experience in the US Agricultural Health Study,” chief executive Matthew Cossey said.
“Since 1993, the US study has followed over 57,000 farmers and licensed pesticide applicators and confirmed that there is no association between glyphosate use and cancer of any kind.”
A spokesman for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority said they would consider the judge’s decision.In 2018, a US court upheld a jury verdict that Roundup caused a groundskeeper’s cancer, but cut the awarded damages from $US250 million to $US39 million.
– AAP
