Rich Katherine: Medicines (Specified Biotechnical Procedures)  Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Rich Katherine: Medicines (Specified Biotechnical Procedures)  Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:625;Page:19761] 
KATHERINE RICH (National) 
: 
 The National Party as my colleague said will not support the bill because we do not see the need for a moratorium. We believe that we already know a lot about the science and that this is a very blunt attempt to hold back the sea. The Government can pretend all it likes to be King Canute but science will continue to progress and to provide solutions for many New Zealand families that are waiting for xenotransplantation technologies to be developed and to be available here. 
We have seen Willie Terpstra and her family go offshore to get the treatment she could not get here. Many New Zealanders watched that story and saw how much that technology made a difference to that New Zealander’s life. Who are we to stand in the way of that? Four members of my family have been on renal dialysis. Three of them have had transplants and one is currently waiting for a transplant. I can tell members on the Government side of the House that if the technology existed to transplant a pig kidney a baboon kidney or any kind of kidney that would keep my family member alive and off renal dialysis then that would be fine by me. 
We need to remember the human face of this argument. Labour can pontificate about the cultural issues and sensitivities yet people are waiting for life-changing treatments. We need to trust the scientists who are very careful sensible and ethical in the work that they have done and are doing. We know that the moratorium will not stop the work being done. It will just send our scientists offshore so that the work can be done there. Is it any wonder that we are seeing a brain drain of scientists right now? There are simply too many hurdles and barriers in their way when it comes to New Zealand science to do leading-edge work. There is no logic behind this decision. There is no reasoning or detailed scientific analysis for the extension of this moratorium. In fact there is no indication that it will work at all except to shut down an area of work and opportunity in New Zealand when a lot of New Zealand families are waiting for the technologies that can arise as a result of this kind of work. 
It was interesting to hear the member opposite talk about arrogance. I think it is arrogance to stand in the way of some life-saving technologies that can make a difference to some New Zealanders’ lives. Unless one is in that situation and really knows what it is like to face those sorts of family difficulties one does not know what one is talking about when pontificating about cultural sensitivities. 
I have had a look at some of the work put out by the Bioethics Council and I have to say that it is an absolute load of tripe. Constituents of mine have been involved in the consultation process in Dunedin and have been subjected to handholding exercises where people ask questions about what happens if someone takes on a pig kidney and suddenly starts to behave like a pig. That is absolute rubbish. There is no scientific base to that sort of discussion. There is no knowledge or detailed understanding of this extremely high-tech scientific area. 
So I think that holding back the tide here does not do the best for New Zealanders. It does not do the best for the many Kiwi families who are waiting for all sorts of solutions to very many debilitating diseases and health conditions that keep people from living full and active lives. It is very easy I think for the Government to bring up some basically extremely spurious reasons why this moratorium should be continued but there is no logic to it. There is no reason or scientific base. I do not think the Government has listened to a lot of the groups—the patients and the families—who are waiting for some of these lifesaving techniques and technologies. 
I worry that so many of our best scientists are going offshore. There are a lot of areas where one cannot do leading-edge research now because of the regulations and hurdles that have been put in place. The scientists in those areas have brains that are easily exportable. They can go offshore and get better salaries and greater continuity in their incomes and careers rather than stay here and see artificial barriers put in place that disallow them from doing good scientific work. I do not think there are any mad scientists in New Zealand. There is a group of scientists who want to do some studies in an area that I think will make a huge difference to the lives of a lot of New Zealanders. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: A lot of them are under stress though. 
KATHERINE RICH 
: My colleague says that some are under stress. That is no surprise. I think some members opposite wish that John Tamihere would be xenotransplanted into another party. But as he says that he will die a Labour man despite apparently humbling himself before the caucus today—although he does not retract any of his comments—it seems that that will not be the case either so they should think about putting a moratorium on John Tamihere. That might do them a better service than trying to put up artificial barriers that will just cause loss of life and remove opportunities for New Zealanders to have access to some of these technologies that will make a difference to their lives. 
Darren Hughes 
: Is this the same woman who got sacked? 
KATHERINE RICH 
: Until Darren Hughes faces a parent on dialysis or a family member who is looking for a transplant of some kind he should keep his mouth shut because he has no idea what it is like. He can pontificate about the cultural sensitivities of xenotransplantation but just wait until he sees a dialysis patient in his constituency office who says: “Your rules are standing between me having a life and not being able to continue.” Then I think he might change his tune—once he understands the human face of these decisions. 
The Government is trying to hold back the tide of science. It is quite Luddite to pretend that science will stop its work in this area. It is only New Zealand that will stop work in this area while the rest of the world will continue to provide opportunities for science. Science will march on and provide some life-giving solutions to a lot of people who are waiting for these opportunities—who are waiting for the second chance at life that might come from a pig kidney a pig liver or some other transplanted organ. 
So it is all very well for members opposite to be theoretical about this moratorium and pretend that it will not have an impact. We know that it will. Many many New Zealanders will be worse off because the Labour Government thinks it can hold back the scientific tide and deny a lot of New Zealanders many lifesaving solutions that will make a difference to their lives and allow them to continue—if of course we have any scientists to continue this work once this moratorium is over. As we know not many scientists who go to the United States or to the UK make the transition back into New Zealand. A few have but not many come back once they get used to research grants good salaries better conditions continuity in their work and better opportunities. We are worse off because we lose those brains—those people who could do a huge amount of work within our Crown research institutes here in New Zealand. 
Finally I tell Government members to remember the human face of this problem to remember that they will have constituents coming into their offices saying: “Why are you against something that could have made a difference to my life?” and to remember that this moratorium is nothing short of Luddite.