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A leading scientist has welcomed the end of a ban on genetic technology and said New Zealand was missing out on opportunities because of outdated rules.
The Government argues lifting a nearly 30-year ban on genetic technology outside a laboratory will bring productivity and climate benefits to New Zealand, as well as health advances such as gene therapy for cancer.
last year, Christopher Luxon says New Zealand’s law was in a “time warp” from 1996 to 2003.
Current legislation, last amended 20 years ago, allows genetic research in laboratories, but field trials outside the lab require approval.
The government plans to introduce a dedicated regulator to oversee applications for genetic technology by the end of this year.
Twenty years ago, so-called genetic engineering sparked controversy, with opponents fearing that if genetically modified organisms were allowed into the environment, there would be negative, irreversible consequences.
New Zealand has always had strict regulations but critics say they are out of step with international peers such as Australia.
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Professor Mike Bangs is a geneticist at Curtin University in Western Australia and a former chief scientific adviser to the Department of Conservation and a member of the government’s genetic technology steering committee.
He told Checkpoint New Zealand has taken a “cautionary” approach to genetic technology for 28 years, but science has advanced. The government is changing its approach.
“We are stepping up efforts to provide a more relaxed environment for low-risk applications in the field of genetic technology.”
In New Zealand, there are very few examples of field trial releases of GM plants and animals, which differs significantly from progress overseas.
He said the plan was to move “low-risk” applications such as making insulin and T cell therapy for cancer treatmententered the laboratory, but may “not change much” within the “high risk range.”
New Zealand has missed out on advances in precision gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR. Using traditional breeding methods, it takes a long time to make a single gene edit, but now the process can be sped up.
This could have applications in horticulture, such as breeding fruit trees to flower at specific times, or producing fruit with a longer shelf life, he said.
Another practical application is the development of sterile Pine trees cause “huge environmental damage”“He said. “GM pine could help us address some of these issues.”
Such genetic changes have been achieved through conventional breeding for “thousands of years,” he said.
“We’re not trying to make changes to stop anything from rotting, but extending the shelf life of apples or enhancing their flavour could be a very good commercial benefit to New Zealand.”
He said there would also be benefits for health and the environment. “A slightly more relaxed environment is probably long overdue so that we are more in line with what is happening overseas.”
For example, Australia recently approved a genetically modified banana that is resistant to a fungal pathogen, which has caused problems for its exports.
Checkpoint Host Lisa Owen asked him if our current GM-free status was a selling point for New Zealand exports.
“Some people would dispute that, and I think it depends on the risk framework.
“We’ve been using genetic tools in New Zealand at the moment – (for example) in vaccines and cancer treatments.
“New Zealand needs to have a deeper conversation about food, and I would encourage New Zealand to move up the DNA a little bit and have a discussion around each application, rather than talking about the technology, whether it’s good or bad.
“It’s a bit like arguing whether the internet is good or bad… We need to discuss the various applications within the internet… rather than generalizing.”
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