GNS Science Cuts Risk New Zealand’s International Reputation

Friday, 13 September 2024, 10:09 am
Press Release: New Zealand Association of Scientists

The New Zealand Association of Scientists is hosting on
its website a letter signed by eighty-five international
leaders in seismic hazards research concerned that the
proposed job losses at GNS Science could ‘devastate’ our
research capability in this critical area for our
security.

NZAS Co-President Troy Baisden expresses
concern, “As these international scientists publish their
concerns, we know New Zealand faces among the most extreme
levels of risk internationally from geohazards. Insurers and
reinsurers are moving to improve their risk-based pricing,
and this will have to be important for efforts to maintain
investment in infrastructure and housing.”

“Now is
not the time to undermine the experts in New Zealand and the
international partnerships that help us understand the
hazards we face.”

He says “It is also not
a time for us to fall into the usual narrative where
international experts defend their New Zealand colleagues,
and operational organisations contend they’re limited by the
public funding they receive, while the Minister says the
cuts to staffing are an operational issue. This
merry-go-round of blame shifting does nothing to address the
actual concerns at hand.”

Co-President Dr
Lucy Stewart adds, “The current Science System Advisory
Group process looks set to overhaul our government science
sector in the most major changes since the creation of the
Crown Research Institutes in the early 1990s. Maintaining
and improving our international research relationships must
be a key priority of any reforms. As this letter
illustrates, losing scientific expertise prior to the
conclusion of this process will damage our national
capability and international connections in ways which
cannot be easily
fixed.”

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