Research spending ‘needs to rise’

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 50

Research spending ‘needs to rise’

Research and development spending in New Zealand has fallen in recent years and needs to be increased if the nation is to remain competitive, according to the Science and Technology Advisory Committee.

Figures collated by the committee showed that research spending by members of the Manufacturers’ Federation fell in real terms 20 per cent between 1986 and 1988. Between 1984 and 1987, spending by Government departments fell 13 per cent, and spending through research associations fell 15 per cent in

real terms. Only university research spending kept pace with inflation in recent years. The committee estimated that total research spending stood at $5BO million, or 1.09 per cent of gross domestic product. That compared with the O.E.C.D. average of 1.64 per cent, and put New Zealand seventeenth on a list of 22 O.E.C.D. countries. The committee’s deputy chairman, Mr Peter Shirtcliffe, said that even at present levels New Zealand’s research and development spending represented a “vast intellec-

tual and physical resource.” A much greater effort was required to direct the resource to improving the economic and social circumstances of the country, job-creation and wealth generation, he said. “We must throw our negative thinking out of the window and ensure that there is a greater science and technology ‘cult’ particularly in the commercial and manufacturing sector.” The drive to create more viable export industries in high-value niche markets was vital.