Science sector sounds alarm over funding shake-up

RNZ News

2 days ago

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123RF
New Zealand's science sector, once hailed for its agility and ingenuity during the pandemic and natural disasters, is now grappling with what researchers say is a crisis of confidence, fuelled by
shrinking budgets
, unstable funding pathways and policy decisions that increasingly favour commercial returns over long-term public good.
Last month, a total of $212 million was cut from the science sector in this Budget, which reprioritises existing research funding towards
commercially focused science
and innovation.
A sizeable portion goes to Invest NZ and a new gene tech regulator.
The government says it backs the sector and is prioritising industry partnerships, private-sector investment, and "innovation outcomes with measurable economic impact".
While officials insist the move reflects "fiscal discipline and real-world alignment", many in the sector say it amounts to a dismantling of the research base.
Newsroom political journalist Fox Meyer tells The Detail that "the scale of the cuts is not great for the sector, but it's also more about the lack of investment".
"It's one thing to have cuts and reprioritisation, but people have been calling for more of just anything for some time now. Now, there is a lot of frustration.
"Science funding has been stagnant or declining for years now, and a decision to reprioritise stuff is not necessarily going to put money in the government's pocket like they think."
With a focus on the bottom line, is this the government pulling off a Sir John Key "show me the money" moment, with a scientific bent?
"That actually goes both ways," says Meyer. "Scientists are looking at the government saying, 'show me the money if you want me to produce more money', and the government is looking back at the scientists and saying, 'well, you show me the money, what are you bringing in, how are you lifting your weight?'.
"That is going to be a hard one to reconcile unless the government is willing to pony up and make the investment."
He worries the fall-out will include a "brain drain" with our country's brightest and best scientists and researchers opting to take up positions overseas.
"My connections in the science world - plenty of them - have moved.
"The chief science advisor for the Department of Conservation has moved to Australia ... that's an expert in a cutting-edge field that we have lost to a company in Australia.
"And it's not the only example of this sort of thing. We invest so much in training up these scientists, and they are very skilled scientists, and then to not give them what they are asking for and what they need, I feel it falls short of our own investment."
In fairness, it is not all doom and gloom.
"So, the positives, there is a new funding pool for Māori-related science, that's a good thing. There's the sector-wide report that has come out, which has given us a good look at the sector. We know more now, that's a good thing. And the
chief science advisor has been appointed
, and the panel around him has been appointed, that's a good thing there."
Meyer says the sector is crucial to all parts of New Zealand.
"The science sector is about answering questions. If you have questions, science is a method, and it is used to answer a lot of those questions ... the more money that we put into this sector, the more questions we can answer. And the more questions we can answer, the more answers we can sell.
"If the government is worried about economic growth, and they want to champion this sector, then you've got to put your money where your mouth is.
"I am going to be curious to see how they can steer the ship of science, when maybe what they are most suited for is selling the fruits of science."
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