Plans for budget cuts at W.R.O.N.Z.

Press, 24 April 1986, Page 25

Plans for budget cuts at W.R.O.N.Z.

A $450,000 deficit forecast has forced the Wool Research Organisation to plan for staff reductions and search for new income sources, its director has said. Redundancies cannot be ruled out, the W.R.O.N.Z. director, Dr Stan Simpson said, but they would be avoided “if at all possible.” “The trouble is redundancies cost money. I cannot afford to make people redundant,” he said.

W.R.O.N.Z. has 100 staff, and 70 per cent of its budget goes on salaries. “It is plain we cannot overcome a gap of that size by reducing operating expenses,” he said. Dr Simpson hopes savings will result from running down staff numbers and offering options such as early retirement. The organisation is already not replacing staff who have left. The organisation cur-

rently earns $350,000 from routine testing, licences and patents. W.R.O.N.Z. would canvas research contracts and contributions from organisations such as the M.A.F., wool exporters, buyers and processors, Dr Simpson said. He hopes for at least $200,000 from such sources this financial year. Last year 52 per cent of the orgnisation’s $4.5 million budget was provided by the Wool Board,

32 per cent by the Government, and the balance by other wool industry organisations. The board has announced a $300,000 increase in its contribution, but Dr Simpson sees no evidence that the Government will be prepared to raise its funding. Other research associations which are supported partly by the Government and partly by their own industry are also in financial difficulties, according to Dr Simpson.

The Minister of Science, Mr Tizard, said that W.R.O.N.Z.’s position cannot be decided in isolation. “This is one of the things that has to be considered in the whole of the Government’s deliberations for the 1986-87 Budget.” Through the science vote, the Government has provided up to 50 per cent of total funding for small research associations, although the proportion de-

creases for the larger associations. “If they get more funding from outside, that is not going to be reflected in more Government funding,” Mr Tizard said. The chairman of the Wool Board, Mr Doug Mcllraith, has called on the Government to “cover its share of increased costs.” “We were promised on the Government’s election that the funds allocated to S.M.P.’s would instead be used to boost agricultural research and development,” he said. “With the primary coarse wool research institute for the world now facing redundancies and cutbacks following the latest wage round, we look forward to the Government standing by its commitments.” Mr Mcllraith said W.R.O.N.Z. was the only base in the world for the research and development of the coarse wools that dominate New Zealand’s clip. “We cannot afford to reduce our commitment to the developmental work that ensures a mar-ket-led future for top quality woollen products.”