The government has announced that it is ending New Zealand’s nearly 30-year "ban" on gene technology outside the lab to bring health, productivity, and climate gains to New Zealanders.
"The moves announced today by the Government are welcome after decades of inaction on regulations for genetic modification and gene editing,” said AgResearch science team leader Richard Scott.
“Much of the rest of the world has already made or is in the process of making changes to accommodate gene technologies that are now more precise and safer than ever. In some cases, these technologies have been safely used overseas for decades now.
The approach proposed for New Zealand excludes “low-risk and well-understood gene technologies” from regulation. Scott said that specific changes made by gene editing are virtually indistinguishable from changes that can occur naturally or through the conventional breeding of organisms.
The health of people and the environment must remain central to any changes, which the Government has recognised, to establish a gene technology regulator similar to Australia’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.
A well-designed and equipped regulator must ensure that any genetically modified or gene-edited organisms or products derived from these processes are safe and deliver what is intended upon release.
Scott added that it was also critical that New Zealanders had confidence that any proposed changes affecting their environment or food supply were subject to appropriate scrutiny and that communities felt heard on these issues.
Among the solutions being worked on in New Zealand are pastures enhanced through gene technologies to increase farm productivity, improve livestock health, and reduce agriculture's environmental impact.
“Many of these solutions take many years to trial, test and refine, and we don’t expect a flood of new products to be proposed for release in New Zealand in the early stages of a new regulator.”
However, he found it encouraging to hear that an initial list of non-regulated activities will be communicated to provide certainty to researchers in planning, and the work can get underway as soon as the new legislation and regulations come into force.
“We look forward to hearing more about what this regulator will look like and the continued involvement of our researchers with extensive experience and expertise in gene technologies in providing advice and working with the regulator.”
While there has been a national conversation on these gene technologies in recent years, introducing new laws and regulations will give people access to trusted information so they feel informed on these issues.
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