Consider the ethical and regulatory impacts of nanotechnology now - Bioethics Council

14 September 2003

Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council has released its first major piece of advice to Government - a future watch paper on nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is the science of the very small, involving manipulation of atoms and molecules, with applications in the areas of material sciences and biology. There is an increasing investment in this research internationally, and some strong research initiatives in New Zealand.

"One of the major roles of the Bioethics Council is to alert the Government and the people of New Zealand to emerging biotechnology issues that are likely to raise significant cultural, ethical and spiritual issues," said Sir Paul Reeves, who chairs the Council.

"Biotechnology is developing at a very rapid pace, and it is hard for people to keep up with developments, even though they may have a very strong interest in ethical questions relating to the development and use of those technologies.

"Our job is to promote and participate in public dialogue of the cultural, ethical and spiritual aspects of biotechnology - including flagging issues about new technology before the debate is already on the front pages of the nation's media."

Sir Paul said that nanotechnology was potentially contentious, but also potentially offered huge benefits. The Bioethics Council therefore needed to closely follow the development of these technologies to help ensure New Zealanders have the opportunity to begin thinking about the cultural, ethical and spiritual issues associated with nanotechnology before large scale use of the technology.

"It is also important that Government itself considers the current regulatory requirements in all areas that are likely to be affected by nanotechnology. We are not suggesting that current regulations are inadequate, but note that regulatory systems are usually designed for current situations and do not always anticipate future developments well, especially in areas that are moving as quickly as biotechnology," said Sir Paul.

The role of Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council includes providing independent advice to Government on the cultural, ethical and spiritual aspects of biotechnology and promoting and participating in public dialogue on these aspects, and enabling public participation in the Council's activities.

Apart from nanotechnology, the Council has also devoted considerable resources to examining the issues around the transfer of genes found in humans into organisms where they do not naturally occur. The Council is working to define the cultural, ethical and spiritual issues that most concern New Zealanders in relation to this technology, with a view to conducting its first major national dialogue on the issue early in the New Year.

"No one has been asked to conduct a national dialogue on bioethics before, so we are developing the dialogue process as well as doing the research on the ethical questions. We aim to give every New Zealander who is interested the opportunity to take part, as well as ensuring that those who have a more direct interest in biotechnology are involved."

For further information contact:

Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council
Telephone: (04) 916-7673