Stem cell research back on senate agenda

A senior Biotechnology Australia bureaucrat has been grilled in a senate estimates committee by conservative Tasmanian independent senator Brian Harradine about the federal agency's attitude towards human embryonic stem cells.

Kerri Hartland, of the department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, was forced to defend a presentation made by Biotechnology Australia's Craig Cormick, denying Harradine's allegation that Cormick "was promoting the cause of cloning".

"Could I indicate to the department that I regard that as an outrageous abuse of the department's position, and I want to know what the department is going to do about that," Harradine said.

Cormick had given a PowerPoint presentation to the Australian Stem Cell Centre conference in November last year, in which he covered community attitudes towards stem cell research.

The presentation included results from a survey conducted last year by Biotechnology Australia, which showed that support for embryonic stem cell research had increased from 52 per cent in 2002 to 62 per cent in 2004, but that support for human cloning remained very low.

Harradine said he was "concerned that Mr Cormick is not only not acting as a disinterested public servant but in fact engaged in public debate over biotechnology, and especially the ethically contentious matters."

He said Cormick had ridiculed ethical concerns about cloning with one PowerPoint slide, which read "Cloning is bad = spooky science", and complained that "the ethical debate is media driven and is causing delays".

Harradine noted that human embryonic cloning was banned by parliament.

Hartland responded that "the mandate of Biotechnology Australia is about raising public awareness and not taking sides one way or the other, pro or con, but saying, 'These are some of the issues that people need to understand when people are trying to make judgments and decisions about these issues'.

"We run focus groups and we do surveys, and this was largely presenting the results of surveys," she said. "Certainly the officer in question and none of the officers are out there promoting cloning. "I think you will find that Mr Cormick, through the presentation, is saying that in fact none of these are entirely true and that there is a range of issues to be taken into account when people make judgments about ethical issues."

The exchange continued, with Harradine bringing up one slide that he said described religious views as "anti-intellectual". Hartland replied that the slide was sourced from a paper in the Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies in Society from 2004 and merely went to illustrate "a view that is being put in some areas".

"Again, it is not anything that the officer involved is saying are his views or the views of the organisation," she said.

The senator warned Hartland that "any attempt to change public opinion needs to be viewed with extreme caution."

Hartland was also asked to confirm what proportion of the resources of the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) were devoted to human adult stem cell research and what proportion to human embryonic stem cell research.

"My latest information is that AUD$4.6 million has been committed to research involving adult stem cells, which constitutes 34 per cent of research funds," she said. "Five million dollars has been committed to research involving mouse embryonic stem cells, which constitutes about 38 per cent of research funds, and $3.8 million has been committed to research involving human embryonic stem cells, which constitutes about 28 per cent of research funds.

"As of now, the industry portfolio has paid $12.5 million to the ASCC and the ARC has paid $13.45 million."

Stem Cell Centre opens in Melbourne

A stem cell research precinct -- billed as the world's largest -- was opened at Monash University today by federal minister for education, Science and Training Brendan Nelson and Victorian minister for Industry and Innovation, John Brumby.

The facility consists of two major laboratories, which will operate side-by-side -- the Major National Research Facility, operating under the auspices of the Australian Stem Cell Centre and the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories owned and operated by Monash University.

"The MNRF will produce, bank and distribute new Australian embryonic stem cell lines to international collaborators as well as bank embryonic stem cell lines received on a reciprocal basis from overseas groups," said Australian Stem Cell Centre chief executive Hugh Niall.

"The MNRF has an arrangement with the UK Stem Cell Bank to exchange and deposit embryonic stem cell lines, and plans are well-advanced to deposit MEL-1, Melbourne's first embryonic stem cell line, in both the UK Stem Cell Bank and the MNRF in readiness for global distribution."