Onus is on research organisations to manage national security risks, ministry says
The publicly funded research system in New Zealand relies on research organisations to manage security risks, with no mechanism in place for funding authorities to reject applications on security grounds.
A government spokesperson confirmed New Zealand’s security approach as Australia’s parliament debates how far to wind back ministerial vetoes of the Australian Research Council’s decisions.
Answering questions from Research Professional News on whether the New Zealand government had similar powers or concerns about sensitive research, a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment spokesperson said that “the system does not provide for the rejection of research funding applications on research security grounds, but rather requires research organisations to take appropriate steps to manage risks”. They did not specify any consequences for failing to take “appropriate steps”.
The New Zealand National Security Strategy released in August says that universities have already been targeted by malevolent foreign interests. “Known interference activities have been targeted at New Zealand’s political, academic, media and private sectors and communities,” it reads.
It says that “New Zealand and our Pacific neighbours are and will remain targets of foreign interference and espionage, with some countries likely to keep trying to penetrate our government networks, acquire sensitive research, co-opt influential figures, monitor dissidents and influence media for their own benefit”.
As artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies develop, “countries will face stark choices related to research and supply chains”, it warns.
The first national “threat environment” statement, released by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service in the same month, says that “the primary target remains the government but now there are broader objectives that can see corporates, research institutions and government contractors in focus”.
Regular meetings with universities
The spokesperson said the ministry was involved in implementing the security strategy.
“We work collaboratively with universities to manage risks,” they told Research Professional News. The ministry “undertakes an assessment of all its science investments to assess the risk that research will be used for unwanted military or security purposes and grant recipients are required to put in place measures to monitor and mitigate this risk. We cannot discuss our approach in any further detail but as the strategy notes, there are published guides to support entities to understand and manage foreign interference risks.”
They continued: “We are limited in how much operational detail we can provide on the system because of the risk of exposing ways to work around it. There are regular meetings between government and universities in New Zealand on this topic. There are also mechanisms in place for ad hoc sharing of information and responding to queries.”
New Zealand maintains a list of “strategic goods” that have export controls, and Universities New Zealand released a training module in May last year to help university researchers assess security risks, in addition to a 2022 guide to security for “senior leaders”.
In Australia, however, applicants to the Australian Research Council are assessed on national security grounds. After legislation currently being considered by the Australian parliament passes, security is likely to be the only reason the government of the day can veto grants.