Former government’s research reforms and Wellington Science City initiative scrapped
Science minister Judith Collins is to scrap the Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways science and research funding reforms and the Wellington Science City development.
Although a formal announcement has not been made, a spokesperson for Collins responded to inquiries about media reports with a written statement.
In the statement, Collins told Research Professional News: “Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways will not be continuing and the Wellington Science City part of Te Ara Paerangi has been discontinued. I am currently consulting with officials on how to best optimise opportunities for the sector while still being cognisant of the extremely tight fiscal environment we are dealing with.”
Future Pathways was a multi-year reform programme developed under the previous government, promising to overhaul research funding and improve career pathways for researchers. Early changes included the creation of new scholarships.
Wellington Science City, announced in the 2023 budget, was to be a NZ$450 million set of research hubs around the city of Wellington.
Members of the Future Pathways reference group recently received formal letters from the minister “thanking them for their service and noting that the programme has concluded”, one member said.
“I have been considering how best to address the systemic issues in the science, innovation and technology system and as such intend not to take the Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways programme forward,” the letter read.
‘Concerning’
Lucy Stewart, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists, said the decision was “concerning”.
There are unanswered questions about the initiatives contained in the Future Pathways plan, including new fellowships promised by the previous government, Stewart said.
A blogpost on the site of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science said that “a raft of questions about the organisation of the country’s public science institutions and their financing is raised by the decision”.
Former science minister Ayesha Verrall tweeted that “the Science City initiative would have driven innovation and economic growth in Wellington. These cuts to fund tax cuts are short-sighted.”
Labour’s science spokesperson Deborah Russell has been contacted for comment.
In response to questions about how she planned to work with the sector, Collins told Research Professional News that “the right mechanisms and regulations in key growth areas can enable science and innovation to play an even more important role in lifting New Zealand’s productivity and economic growth. I plan to cut red tape to optimise opportunities, while also ensuring our election year commitments such as establishing a New Zealand biotech regulator are met.”
The decision was first reported on the website of The Post newspaper on 7 February.