12 February 2002
Prime Minister Helen Clark can't claim her Government supports biotechnology, research and innovation when they overrode
the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Genetic Engineering and are imposing a moratorium on field trials,
National's Biotechnology spokesperson Dr Paul Hutchison said today.
"It is even more absurd for the Government to claim it promotes innovation when, through the HSNO Bill, it has banned
world-beating diabetes research even though it has nothing to do with genetic engineering.
"The Government is also flying in the face of a key signal from the Knowledge Wave Conference that New Zealand needed to
rigorously support biotechnology research. Last year the Government's tiny $11 million funding to science and research
was the lowest figure in six years.
"The moratorium on field trials is preventing New Zealand scientists from progressing necessary work. The Government's
luddite stance in biotechnology is sending agricultural and horticultural scientists overseas to do their work because
applications for research here have become impossibly complicated and costly.
"It is a tragedy for New Zealand diabetics that the Health Minister does not allow trials to continue in cases where
patients have given fully informed consent.
"Helen Clark's government is not funding key biotechnology research adequately, has made compliance too difficult and is
banning both GM and non GM research altogether. The Government can't claim to be supporting innovation when it is
blatantly hindering progress in science and technology," said Dr Hutchison.
Ends