National promises to end Genetic Engineering ban

Judith Collins said a gene editing ban will be binned under National. Photo / NZME

National promises to end an effective ban on gene editing (GE) and genetic modification (GM) if the party wins the 2023 election.

The party’s science, innovation, and technology spokeswoman Judith Collins announced a “Harnessing Biotech Plan” on Sunday morning that would end New Zealand’s effective ban on GE and GM, create a dedicated regulator for the technology, and streamline approvals for trials and use of non-GE or GM biotechnologies.

Collins said the rules would bring New Zealand into line with jurisdictions like Australia and many European countries.

She said New Zealand risked being left behind. Some New Zealand companies were developing technology which could only be tested and used offshore because of restrictive rules here.

“New Zealand has already created genetically modified grasses in labs which would significantly reduce our agricultural emissions, but our restrictive, outdated rules currently mean no GE crops can be grown in New Zealand. GE crops can also be used to resist pests without the use of pesticides, keeping waterways clean,” Collins said.

“GE has the potential to deliver vast benefits for human health. Recently a 13-year-old in London was cured of cancer using GE,” she said.

Collins made the announcement ahead of agricultural fair Field Days, where National will attempt to reconnect with rural voters who are peeling off to Act.

One application of GE and GM includes the development of grasses that could reduce agricultural emissions.

Gene technology is regulated by the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO).

The legislation allows genetic research in laboratories, which has occurred in New Zealand since the 1970s, but field trials and applications of gene technology products outside the lab require approvals.

HSNO was last amended in 2003 following an anguished political debate on the merits or otherwise of GE.

National said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved fewer than ten GE or GM products for release outside labs under the current rules and that no commercial GE or GM crops are grown in New Zealand, and no fresh produce based on gene technologies are sold here.

Collins said the HSNO is out of date with the last two decades of developments in GE and GM, particularly CRISPR, which allows precise gene editing.

National argues there are immense economic benefits to liberalising New Zealand’s GM rules.

When Auckland research company Lanzatech left New Zealand in 2014 its co-founder Dr Sean Simpson blamed restrictive regulation

“Shifting the company from Auckland to Illinois was a commercial necessity, reflecting the relative cost of doing business, proximity to projects of scale, the difficulty of attracting key technical staff to New Zealand and the country’s regulatory barriers to using genetically modified organisms – a key element in Lanzatech’s bio-fuel production,” Simpson said.

The politics of repealing the ban are difficult. The 2003 legislation followed a lengthy protest movement against a liberal GE and GM regime.

Labour’s environment spokesman David Parker said the party was “open to changes, but are taking a careful approach to get the balance right for the security of our exports and the economy”.

Parker said that Christopher Luxon’s interview on TVNZ’s Q+A about the policy was “troubling” for the fact it did not mention the “risks that change to our GE free brand pose to our primary export”.

He said there was no evidence a “cautious approach to GE food and crops has caused New Zealand any loss” but that some exporters were able to achieve better prices by being GE free.