9-Misc: Maori to get more say in GE research

[GENET <hmeyer@ngi.de>]

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                                  PART I
-------------------------------- GENET-news --------------------------------

TITLE:  Maori to get more say in GE research
SOURCE: New Zealand Press Association/The New Zealand Herald
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&
        thesubsection=&storyID=3048898&reportID=53009
DATE:   Dec 27, 2002

------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------


Maori to get more say in GE research

The Environmental Risk Management Authority is looking at giving more 
weight to Maori spiritual values when it considers genetic research 
proposals.

The move goes against the concerns of many scientists, who say existing 
rules on Maori involvement are hampering research.

The authority is consulting on ways to better take into account Maori 
cultural and especially spiritual values in a revised policy, due to be 
issued in June.

It suggests, among other things, that Maori spiritual concerns about 
genetic research - even in the absence of any physical or biological risk - 
could be enough reason to reject research applications.

The suggestion is likely to alarm scientists, who say Erma's rules already 
hinder basic research.

Scientists applying for approval to conduct genetic research are encouraged 
to consult Maori - and must consult them if they intend to research native 
species - and their research proposals are evaluated on Maori values.

Canterbury University head of zoology Frank Sin, who abandoned his research 
into paua and lobster because Ngai Tahu did not approve it, warned that 
Erma must relax its rules or risk drive young scientists out of the country.

"I'm not losing anything by not doing this research but for the young 
academics this is their bread and butter.

"I can see for the younger generation of scientists it will be quite 
critical for them."

Professor Sin was blocked on two applications to Erma for permission to 
clone paua and lobster genes for subsequent research into how to improve 
their growth for commercial harvest.

He proposed putting their genes into bacteria to grow copies in a standard, 
lab-contained procedure that is also used to put human genes into bacteria 
to produce insulin for people with diabetes.

"We're not talking about developing new genetically modified organisms. 
We're just using a genetic technique in the lab. Yet I didn't get approval. 
So I just gave up."

Ngai Tahu spokesman Mark Solomon defended requirements for scientists to 
consult with Maori.

"It's so they can't fob us off," he said.

"We look at things in slightly different ways. Maori believe everything has 
a lifeforce that is a gift from the Creator and if you mix those 
lifeforces, what happens? That's not natural."

Ngai Tahu was the only iwi to be given "interested persons" status by the 
Royal Commission on Genetic Modification.

In its submission, it stated its "abhorrence" of those involved in genetic 
modification "acting as God and interfering with the blueprint of life".

Mr Solomon said the tribe did not have a blanket rule to disapprove all 
genetic research, and considered each application put before it.

He did not know if Ngai Tahu had ever approved genetic research.


                                  PART II
-------------------------------- GENET-news --------------------------------

TITLE:  Editorial: It's time to end this GM nonsense
SOURCE: New Zealand Press Association/The New Zealand Herald
        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3048964&
        thesection=news&thesubsection=general&reportid=53009
DATE:   Dec 28, 2002

------------------ archive: http://www.gene.ch/genet.html ------------------


Editorial: It's time to end this GM nonsense

There is, so the saying goes, more than one way to skin a cat. In the 
Speech from the Throne in August, it was confirmed that the moratorium on 
commercial releases of genetically modified organisms would not be 
extended. At the same time, a review of the Environmental Risk Management 
Authority, the body charged with approving GM trials, was announced. It 
appeared little more than a sop to the Greens.

Now, however, it emerges that the authority is already looking at giving 
more weight to Maori spiritual values when it considers genetic research 
proposals. Scientists have good cause to be alarmed. This misguided notion 
has the potential to stifle their work as effectively as any prohibition on 
research.

The authority goes so far as to suggest that Maori spiritual concerns about 
genetic research - even in the absence of physical or biological risk - 
could be reason enough to reject research applications. Essentially, that 
assets the dominance of spirituality over science, modern thought and 
practice. Fear is granted a ranking above rational thinking. Ephemera takes 
precedence over agricultural research that is pivotal to this country's 
future well-being. It is nonsensical, and it is a recipe for increased 
tension. Even the much-maligned Resource Management Act does not deliver 
such privilege to one racial group.

It is also utterly unnecessary. Even now, the authority's procedures - for 
both Maori and wider public involvement - are tipped heavily against the 
scientific community. Case by case, opponents of genetic research can put 
their view. So much is the process weighted towards public participation 
that it can easily be hijacked by anti-GM groups.

The way is clear for filibustering through the presentation of thousands of 
submissions on any one research application. Even if the application is 
approved, the research may have been delayed to such an extent that New 
Zealand's leadership in the field is lost.

Opponents of GM are apt to cite experiments gone wrong. Several such claims 
were made to the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. When the 
commission checked them out, they were either discredited or found not to 
be the total truth. The commission arrived at sensible conclusions that, 
while precautionary, did not involve it turning its back on science. Now, 
the risk management authority is threatening to undo that good work. If 
Maori spiritual values are given crucial weight, they will inevitably be 
seized upon by the opponents of GM.

Already, Ngai Tahu, the only iwi to be given "interested persons" status by 
the royal commission, appears to have a largely closed mind. A spokesman 
claims the iwi does not have a blanket rule to disapprove of all genetic 
research, and considers each application put before it. But it speaks 
volumes when he could not recollect Ngai Tahu ever approving genetic 
research.

Already, the iwi has declined relatively mundane research into paua and 
lobster, bringing the application to a dead end. Maori must be consulted if 
the intended research is into native species. But when a Canterbury 
University scientist sought approval from them for genetic research into 
endangered native frogs, some iwi did not even reply, presumably out of a 
lack of interest. Thus that work was also abandoned.

The prospect is for authority hearings so protracted that the Waitangi 
Tribunal will seem, by comparison, to work at the speed of light. Already, 
some research, such as the stalled work on paua and lobster, has been lost 
overseas, or will not be done at all.

Increasingly, young scientists are looking askance when they see work of 
merit blocked by its lack of "responsiveness" to the Maori scheme of 
things. Some will look for a more appropriate, and more responsive, 
workplace overseas. The risk management authority should be relaxing its 
existing rules, not extending them in such an irrational manner - for the 
sake of Maori, and all New Zealanders.



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| European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering |
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