Funds-cut means redundancies

Press, 20 December 1988, Page 7

Funds-cut means redundancies

By JENNY LONG Half the staff of the Lincoln Centre for Resource Management will be made redundant in the new year, after a reduction in guaranteed Government funding. Six research scientists and three support technicians opted for voluntary redundancy after it became clear that staffing levels would have to be reduced. The centre, which has branches at both Lincoln College and the University of Canterbury, looks at long-term issues in man-

agement of New Zealand’s resources, often for Government departments. The principal of Lincoln College, Professor Bruce Ross, said the Government planned a phased withdrawal of guaranteed funding to half its previous levels. The centre would then be able to compete for contracts, to provide additional income. Professor Ross said the main concern was that a strong core of people who understood the issues needed to be maintained to work in resource man-

agement. “If more and more money is to become contestable, then many institutions, including Lincoln, the Government and the Ministry for the Environment will have trouble maintaining core staff.” The centre has both teaching and research staff, and about 30 postgraduate students. The centre’s director, Dr John Hayward, said that while teaching positions were funded separately, and were not affected, a strong research programme had to be

maintained to support and lead the teaching. Dr Hayward said that voluntary redundancy was the best way to reduce staffing levels. Many of those taking redundancy had identified a market niche, and were keen to take the opportunity for change. Voluntary redundancy made it more difficult for the institution, as “naturally you lose some people you would prefer to keep.” The redundancies would leave the centre in a stronger position, as re-

maining staff would feel more secure, Dr Hayward said. The centre would have the flexibility to move in new directions, and to enter joint-venture contracts. Long-term planning, taking into account the wishes of the public, would become more important than immediate problem-solving, he said. More time was now being spent on issues relating to the Treaty of Waitangi, and its implications for planning, Dr Hayward said.