Our long-time supporter, the Hon. Richard Jones MLC, gave the following adjournment speech on June 26th, 2001:
The Medical Advances Without Animals (MAWA) Trust is the first of its kind in Australia. Launched in February 2000, it will initially provide a Grant-in-Aid of up to $25,000 for medical research that does not use animals at any stage. After the Trust's management committee has assessed applications in October, the inaugural recipient of the Grant-in-Aid will be announced. In addition to providing funds to assist in the development and use of non-animal methodologies in medical research, the Trust will also support the training of new research scientists in these procedures in Australia and internationally. The money it provides will be an important incentive for researchers to use and develop alternatives to animals when conducting research.
The Australian Association for Humane Research Inc., which is the trustee of MAWA, has for twenty years had as one of its major goals the establishment of such a trust, and should be congratulated on its efforts to encourage the development of new and innovative means of conducting medical research. Why are government funding bodies not moving in a similar direction? The recent announcement of a massive increase in New South Wales Government funding for medical research, for example, made no mention of promoting non-animal alternatives. While the Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes specifically requires "the development and use of techniques which replace animal use in scientific and teaching activities", there is no evidence whatsoever that this requirement is being met, or even addressed, by the Government or the research community.
The ethos of the MAWA Trust is simple: solutions to human diseases will only come from the progressive replacement of animal experimentation with human-based research. Despite public perception of the value of animal experimentation in medical progress, its role has been grossly exaggerated and the two major killer diseases of mankind, cardiovascular disease and cancer, still remain largely unconquered. It is symbolic that the Trust has been launched at the dawn of the new millennium: Now is the time to question the validity of using animals for research and move on. Such outdated matters as the use of laboratory animals persist, despite the spectacular technological advances in every other area of human endeavour.
Some specialist organisations overseas are already giving generous financial support for scientific research projects which do not involve animal use, and for the development of alternative technologies. Among these organisations I refer in particular to the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research in England, which has recently supported research in such important areas as meningitis, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. None of this research involves the use of animals at any stage. None of this research involves the use of animals at any stage. The Dr Hadwen Trust is also supporting seven postgraduate students under its Research Plus program, which trains students in the use of non-animal techniques.
It is with deep regret, and indeed with some embarrassment, that I believe Australia is lagging far behind other countries in moving away from the archaic use of animals as models for humans and towards the exciting potential of these new technologies. Surely in the new millennium we should not be continuing to use nineteenth century technologies. So far as I am aware, no Australian organisation is specifically funding non-animal research, and the new MAWA Trust will fill this void.
Some of Australia's leading scientists and academics support the MAWA Trust. Those on MAWA's management committee include Dr Richard Burnet of the Royal Adelaide Hospital; Professor Stephen Leeder and Associate Professor Colin Harbour from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney; the Hon. Kevin Rozzoli, MP; Associate Professor Garry Scroop from the Department of Physiology, University of Adelaide; Ms Alison Turtle, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sydney; and Ms Elizabeth Ahlston of the Australian Association for Humane Research.
The MAWA Trust needs donations from companies and funding from Government. I urge all companies who are interested in the future success of medical research to give to the MAWA Trust. Donations, which are tax deductible, should be sent to the MAWA Trust, Post Office Box 779, Darlinghurst, New South Wales 1300, or donors can call (02) 9360 1144. In particular I urge the Minister for Health and the Minister for Agriculture to provide yearly funding to the MAWA Trust and ensure that the New South Wales Government has an investment in the future of successful medical research in Australia. A truly responsible and forward-thinking government should encourage its research community to embrace change by providing financial incentives for it to do so, rather than simply maintaining the status quo.