Maori 'support biotechnology'

Leading Maori biotechnologist Dr Garth Cooper has hit back at National Party claims that Maori objections are holding back the biotech industry.

Dr Cooper, whose tribal links are with the Waikato, told a biotech networking dinner this week that there was grassroots support in Maoridom for his work on a new drug for diabetes.

He was responding to National's biotechnology spokesman, Paul Hutchison, who said consultation with Maori groups could take "from two weeks to infinity".

Dr Hutchison cited AgResearch's project to insert a human gene into cows to find a cure for multiple sclerosis.

"It took two years to get through and cost $500,000, and they had a High Court challenge [from local Maori]," he said.

But Dr Cooper said he sat on several Maori regulatory bodies and found support for "recombinant" technology used, for example, to produce artificial insulin.

"There are large numbers taking recombinant insulin," he said. "If you ask them on a marae whether they will stop taking it, the answer is that they won't because they think it's a benefit.

"So the question I would have for Maoridom is how widespread is the grassroots support for a blanket ban on genetic modification.

"When we get to the issue of the food chain in animals or plants, that is a different matter. Therefore we do need to separate out the issue of medicine."

Dr Cooper said another problem area was studying the genetics of diseases in Maori. In that field, "even if you get permission from the tribal bodies, you will always find there are others that have a different view".

"It's a huge challenge. I don't know how to shorten the timeframe."

Dr Cooper agreed with Dr Hutchison that the regulatory hoops required to get approval for research into genetic modification were "onerous".

But he said: "That is a small negative. That is not a major factor that Americans focus on. In the last 50 discussions I've had with American venture capitalists, it has not surfaced once."