Cost Of Brain Drain

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31976, 1 May 1969, Page 26

Cost Of Brain Drain

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 30. Snob values and political advantages in employing overseas consultants were perpetuating New Zealand’s brain drain, a Wellington architect and town nlanner, Mr D. E. BarryMartin, said today.

This explained the refusal of national firms to recognise New Zealand skills and expertise, and was undermining all incentive for trained specialists to stay in the country, he told a meeting of the Alligators Club.

Last year 3863 professional and skilled workers left New Zealand for more rewarding opportunities overseas, he said. Two thousand immigrants helped offset this brain drain, yet 958 doctors, engineers, scientists and teachers were lost.

The traditional colonial cap-doffing iii spite of the egalitarian Welfare State was virtually forcing newlytrained meh to seek more rewarding work and recognition elsewhere.

“Yet overseas consultants with limited knowledge of New Zealand cannot be expected to make the best use of local resources whether of manpower or materials,” Mr Barry-Martin said. The brain draip was costing New Zealand millions of dollars each year, and the

amount of professional fees, paid out of New Zealand was just as high. For the design of electric power supply projects alone, the Government sent an average of sl.6m a year out of the country in the three years before July, 1968!

“Inferiority Complex” For a small country New Zealand had the highest peri ceqtage per capita In the! world of “exported” professiona! workers. The stigma of home-trained men being unequal to international ■ professionals was creating a “Kiwi inferiority complex.” “With more trained workers leaving university than there are jobs to place them in, the incentive should be on using New Zealand talent and skills before ’importing’ a prestige figure,” Mr BarryMartin said.