Formation of the Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council

Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council ^{[‘Toi te Taiao’ in Maori means the meeting of the spiritual and natural worlds.]} (the Council) was appointed in December 2002, as a result of recommendation 14.2 of the 2001 Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. The Commission recommended ‘that Government establish Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council to:

• act as an advisory body on ethical, social and cultural matters in the use of biotechnology in New Zealand
• assess and provide guidelines on biotechnological issues involving significant social, ethical and cultural dimensions
• provide an open and transparent consultation process to enable public participation in the Council’s activities.’ ^{[Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification: Report and Recommendations 2001 , p.346, Recommendation 14.2.]}

The Government agreed in its response to the Royal Commission to establish the Council. In doing so it extended the scope of the Council’s oversight to include all biotechnology, not just genetic modification.

Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council was established as a Ministerial Advisory Committee. [CAB Min (01) 33/22 refers.]

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