Staff curb ‘impedes research’

Press, 17 July 1978, Page 2

Staff curb ‘impedes research’

PA Wellington The lack of growth in scientific staff in Government departments in the last two years had seriously impeded scientific research, said the chairman of the National Research Advisory Council (Mr L. A. Cameron) in his annual report tabled in Parliament.

It had “seriously impeded the urgently required expansion in activities such as processing, manufacturing, transport, energy and social sciences,” he said. The Government had agreed in principle to an over-all staff increase of 5.8 per cent for the five years beginning in 1976.

But the economic conditions and the need to restrain spending in the Public Service had meant the scientific work force was reduced by 0.5 per cent in that year and increased by only 0.8 per cent the next year, Mr Cameron said. For some time the main concern of the National Research Advisory Council had been that New Zealand’s total scientific effort had not been at a sufficiently high level to meet the country’s real needs for science and technology and support its social and economic development. Because New Zealand was a small country with an economy based on individuallj -owned farms and, by world standards, small-scale industry, the private sector had not the capacity to support any significant level of scientific research, Mr Cameron said.