Tight security as NZ gene technology report due

By ANNE BESTON environment reporter

The Government is unlikely to make any promises today on what it will do with the report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification - other than promising to consider it.

The $6.2 million investigation into one of the most critical environmental issues facing the country will be unveiled at Parliament this afternoon.

Tight security has surrounded the 1500-page, four-volume report since the commission handed it to the Government on Friday.

The commission's recommendations, and whether they are acted on, have the potential to affect every New Zealander.

During its 14-month investigation, the four-member commission was told about research in New Zealand on everything from genetically engineered pine trees to breeding cows that will have a synthetic human gene.

When the report is released after the cabinet meeting today, Prime Minister Helen Clark is unlikely to be specific on what changes, if any, the Government will make to the way gene technology is regulated.

But if significant changes are to come, the Government will have to consider the ban on field trials, which

Industry and research organisations agreed to the moratorium only while the commission was sitting, so tests of genetically engineered organisms outside the laboratory, such as growing fields of fruit, are only on hold.

Unless the Government brings in new rules before August 31, researchers and scientists are likely to press ahead.

Just a handful of key ministers, including Research, Science and Technology Minister Pete Hodgson, Environment Minister Marian Hobbs and Helen Clark, have seen the commission's report.

The Government has done all it can to prevent sneak previews. Copies put before officials at the weekend were individually numbered.

"They are looking at it out of the public eye until it's officially released. It's a big deal," said a spokesman for the Prime Minister's office.

Hundreds of copies will be put in the post today from the royal commission's office in Wellington. A copy is expected to be on the commission's website by mid-afternoon.

Once the report is public, the fireworks are likely to begin.

The Green Party has trumpeted the setting-up of the commission as a victory for the party, but if its findings contravene Greens policy and the Government is persuaded to relax rules for experiments, the Greens could head for a showdown with the Labour-Alliance Coalition.

On the other side of the debate, many businesses and research institutes are touting GE as the knowledge wave of the future. They want New Zealand to proceed as quickly as possible down the biotech path.

The four-member commission held 15 public meetings, 11 hui, 29 workshops, one youth forum and 13 weeks of formal hearings where 107 interested persons gave their views.

It also waded through 10,000 public submissions and needed an extra month to deliver its report.

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