Harawira Hone: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Storage) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Harawira Hone: Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (Storage) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13729] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Kia ora tatou katoa e te Whare. The Maori Party wants to raise three very specific concerns in this discussion to amend the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 to state that in vitro embryos must be disposed of before the expiry period of 10 years or any later date approved by the ethics committee. The first is the lack of consultation regarding tikanga Maori the second is the status of whakapapa and the third is the critical issue of ethical responsibility in respect of Maori ownership and participation in decision making. All of these concerns are wrapped up in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As tangata whenua and as a Treaty partner we restate the constitutional obligation of all agencies of the Crown including ethics committees to ensure Maori participation protection and partnership in all decision making. 
When we think about tikanga in this field I note that a separate Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology has been established to review and approve research involving new technologies or treatments for human reproduction and infertility—technologies that can be highly invasive and even exploitative. They are technologies such as tissue banking genetic engineering the manipulation and storage of human embryos therapeutic cloning pre-implantation genetic diagnosis the splitting of embryos and the creation of hybrid embryos or transgenic life forms. Although this legislation is specifically restricted to the storage of embryos I want to make reference to the wider field and the particular risks and concerns it poses for Maori. 
One of the Ethics Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology’s seven guiding principles states that “The needs values and beliefs of Maori should be considered and treated with respect.” Those needs values and beliefs are all part of the tikanga that we desperately want to see applied throughout all processes be it the process used for the handing over of the storage of or the burial or cremation of embryos. These are specially charged moments for Maori and they need to be properly considered managed and handled in line with tikanga Maori. 
The Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology has already highlighted Maori concerns about the protection of whakapapa and the need for collective discussion about cultural implications kaitiakitanga and appropriate tikanga in its report  
Consultation on the Use of In Vitro Maturation in Fertility Treatment 
 which was released last year. Having documented the concerns we believe it is now time to take action to give effect to the report’s recommendations. Yet in this bill both the issues and recommendations in respect of Maori concerns are simply nowhere to be seen. 
The second critical aspect is about the law recognising the authority that whanau should have over their whakapapa and any embryonic material that contains such whakapapa. It is a concept that is clearly spelt out in an article by Dr Marewa Glover and Dr Benedicta Rousseau entitled “ ‘Your Child is Your Whakapapa’: Maori Considerations of Assisted Human Reproduction and Relatedness”. Their study noted that for Maori these issues could not be confined just to the mechanics of technology or objective technological interventions; they were about what constitutes human life and relationships. They were about the importance and uniqueness of Maori identity. They were about whakapapa and they were about the right of whanau to determine what happens to their embryos rather than allow that decision to be made by a few people on a detached committee. The reason is simple: those eggs those embryos those foetuses those babies belong to the whanau not to the scientists. 
I come to the issue of the ethical responsibility of what happens to unused eggs after 10 years—who owns them whether or not they are destroyed and how decisions are made about them. I refer the House to a key resource on ethical consent around Maori issues  
Te Tauranga Waka 
. It was put together by the Putaiora Writing Group of Khyla Russell Barry Smith Moe Milne Paul Reynolds Stephanie Palmer and Maui Hudson. The group recommended gathering and reporting data relevant and meaningful for Maori to provide for proper assessment of issues understanding critical issues such as kaitiakitanga and their place in the decision-making process and ensuring Maori participation in decision making itself. 
Finally we raise again the whole question of whether human embryo use in research will help sustain us or contribute to our demise as a people the ownership that whanau should have over any of their own embryonic material and the right of whanau to be fully involved in all relevant decision-making concerning any issues to do with their whakapapa. 
There are too many weighty issues involved in this bill. Although we understand and support its general intention we simply do not believe that there has been sufficient korero with whanau hapu and iwi for us to do anything other than oppose this bill at this time. Kia ora tatou.