Government is engaged in the biggest shake-up of science funding and science management
the country has seen for over 20 years. It’s clear that the 2010 Budget will be a key component
of setting the scene for the coming few years.

“The most serious issues in the science sector are micro-management and excessive
competition for too little funding. Beyond reducing compliance costs by reorganising
Government science agencies (MoRST and FRST), there is a clear case for significantly
increased Government investment in science” said Dr James Renwick, President of NZAS.

The most significant changes in the New Zealand science system for 20 years are now under
way. There will be major changes in the ways Crown Research Institutes are funded and
managed and the Government is merging the Ministry and the Foundation for Research Science
and Technology (MoRST and FRST) into a new Department for Science.

Dr James Renwick, President of NZAS, welcomes these changes. “The Government is taking
bold steps to fix a system that has long been broken and is to be commended for this.”

The New Zealand Association of Scientists is heartened by the findings of the CRI Taskforce.
President Dr James Renwick said “the recommendations of the report echo a number of the
main points that NZAS made in its submission, and Government implementation of the
Taskforce’s recommendations would go a long way to addressing some of the main concerns
identified in the NZAS survey of scientists.”

The Association feels that the Taskforce has carried out an excellent analysis of the CRIs, the
problems they face, and how these issues affect their ability to work in the national interest.

The New Zealand Association of Scientists’ (NZAS) just-released Survey of New
Zealand Scientists and Technologists provides a detailed recent snapshot of working
scientists in New Zealand, and builds on earlier surveys spanning the past 16 years to
provide an evolving picture of the state of the science workforce in this country.

Overall, the survey results support the view that the time is ripe for significant change in
the science system in this country, as has been signalled by the Government reviews of

In response to 'A Science Manifesto'
scoop.co.nz Friday, 18 April 2008, 10:03 am
Press Release: New Zealand Association of Scientists

17 April 2008

In response to 'A Science Manifesto'

Press Release from New Zealand Association of Scientists

The New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) applauds the rationale and
recommendations put forward by the Royal Society's National Science Panel in
their just released 'Science Manifesto'.

As practicing scientists, we identify with the state of New Zealand science as

Christchurch Press press release

New Zealand Herald press release