Christopher Luxon holds post-Cabinet press conference, where Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announces reforms to get councils back to basics. Video / Mark Mitchell
New Zealand’s peak science body, Royal Society Te Apārangi, is the latest to publicly weigh in on controversial cuts to humanities and social sciences research
The Government-ordered changes put an end to Marsden Fund grants for research in those disciplines – while also requiring 50% of grants to demonstrate economic benefits
Society president Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding has told Prime Minister Christopher Luxon the risks of not investing in social sciences and humanities are “substantial”
New Zealand’s peak science body has urged the Government to rethink controversial funding cuts to “vital” humanities and social sciences research.
A just-released open letter from the Royal Society Te Apārangi marks the latest plea from the science community after Government-ordered changes to the Marsden Fund, which the society has administered to support “blue sky” research for three decades.
Today, nine recipients of a Prime Minister’s science prize voiced their own opposition to the moves, joining 80 Rutherford Discovery fellows, several sector groups, universities and prominent scholars.
Changes to the $77 million fund’s terms of reference effectively put a stop to grants for humanities and social sciences research – the panels overseeing them will be disbanded – while 50% of grants will need to demonstrate an economic benefit to the country.
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins said it was important “we support new ideas which lead to developing new technologies and products, boosting economic growth, and enhancing New Zealand’s quality of life”.
In announcing the shake-up, which has drawn praise from Act and BusinessNZ, Collins this month said “real impact” on the economy would come from areas like physics, chemistry, maths, engineering and biomedical sciences.
But in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, the Royal Society Te Apārangi’s president, Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding, said the risks of not investing in social sciences and humanities would be “substantial”.
The disciplines were important for guiding scientific research that had ultimate economic benefits – but also for improving health, cutting crime, and boosting employment and education.
Harding said the changes amounted to a $16.4m annual loss in funding for the areas and could also spell a loss in research expertise – particularly with women and Māori and Pacific researchers.
“Evidence suggests that early-career academics are most likely to leave, threatening a critical pipeline of thought-leadership for our country.”
While the society would implement the changes in Marsden’s 2025 funding round, Harding urged Luxon to consider supporting research in the areas through other mechanisms.
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins has ordered changes to the terms of reference of the Marsden Fund. Photo / Alex Burton
Meanwhile, most recipients of the Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize today delivered Luxon a letter calling for the Marsden changes to be reversed.
They are electron microscopist Dr John Watt; neuroscientist Professor Donna Rose Addis; paleoceanographer Professor Rob McKay; physiologist Associate Professor Karl Iremonger; cognitive biologist Dr Alex Taylor; evolutionary virologist Professor Jemma Geoghegan; ecologist Associate Professor Jonathan Tonkin; and cognitive scientist Dr Samuel Mehr.
The scientists argued that requiring 50% of grants to have an economic benefit would in turn have “a long-term negative impact on economic growth”.
“A cut to the funding of basic science in New Zealand is a cut to innovation and our global competitiveness in research and development.”
They said the fund, which offered around $77m in grants this year, had long been dedicated to supporting open-ended, basic science with society-wide benefits that may not be immediately recognised.
“Starting in 2025, half of that funding will be diverted to projects with immediate economic applications – despite New Zealand already having substantially more funding available from other, larger pools that are dedicated solely to applied research.”
University of Auckland cognitive scientist Dr Samuel Mehr (centre) was this year presented the Prime Minister's MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins. Photo / Rebecca McMillan Photography
They said the changes would lead to New Zealand losing top scientists to other countries while making it harder to lure researchers, students and funding from overseas.
“These outcomes will reduce our global competitiveness in both the public and private research sectors, which will only have negative impacts on the New Zealand economy.”
The scientists cited some examples of breakthroughs that had come from basic science, such as Wi-Fi, gene editing and artificial intelligence.
“Such investments are now slated to be cut by half in New Zealand: We urge the Government to reconsider this decision.”
University of Auckland-based Mehr said Luxon and Collins – who personally presented him last year’s prize - “simply don’t get that investment in fundamental science is in our economic interest as it stands”.
Approached by the Herald about both letters, Collins said in a statement that Marsden funding had been reallocated toward “core science” but had not changed.
“The Marsden Fund will continue to support blue-skies research that advances new ideas, innovation and creativity,” she said.
“Ultimately, our science funding is looked at in comparison to funding for health and frontline services and I, as the minister, have a job to ensure our science funding is generating maximum benefit for New Zealanders.”
Jamie Morton is a specialist in science and environmental reporting. He joined the Herald in 2011 and writes about everything from conservation and climate change to natural hazards and new technology.
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