Maharey's plans won't help NZ science

new-zealand-national-party

Thu May 04 2006 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Maharey's plans won't help NZ science

Thursday, 4 May 2006, 4:08 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Dr Paul Hutchison National Party Research, Science & Technology Spokesman

4 May 2006

Labour's plans to decrease contestability in science funding will make New Zealand less competitive with the rest of the world, says National's Research, Science and Technology spokesman, Dr Paul Hutchison.

"Steve Maharey has introduced highly competitive funding into universities," says Dr Hutchison.

"Why is he now planning to do the opposite for Crown Research Institutes?

"Both Mr Maharey and his colleague Trevor Mallard have said that contestable funding moves the emphasis to quality over quantity. It appears they have not taken their own advice.

"The Minister has provided no hard evidence that his proposed changes will work, and most scientific and economic literature strongly supports contestable funding.

"Government investment in science, expressed as a percentage of GDP, has gone down in the past six years, and now the Minister is moving to reduce our competitiveness as well," says Dr Hutchison.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand National Party on InfoPages.