1. TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) Link to this
to the Minister of Research, Science and Technology
Does he recall advising the House that the Marsden Fund is “run by researchers who are our very own senior researchers, making their own applications”; if so, what is the code of ethics that enables these very senior researchers to do this?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Research, Science and Technology) Link to this
I thank the member for the question, which has undoubtedly captured the imagination of the House today. What I was saying in context yesterday was that Marsden is a fund that our most senior researchers apply to. Unlike most of our research funding, the funding is untargeted and therefore enables researchers to put forward proposals that they believe will advance their academic field, as judged by panels of their peers. Contracts between the Marsden Fund and researchers “must comply with the Royal Society of New Zealand Code of Professional Standards and Ethics and with other recognised codes relating to the type of research being undertaken”. I will seek leave to table the relevant code of ethics at the end of the question.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Does the Minister recall advising the House: “the Marsden Fund is based largely, almost exclusively in fact, on a Western tradition of knowledge.”, and does he consider this to be an instance of institutional racism, which a previous Labour Government departmental report described as “bias in our social and administrative institutions that automatically benefits the dominant race or culture while penalising minority and subordinate groups”?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
No, I do not regard it as a case of institutional racism. The point I was making yesterday is not that Māori knowledge cannot be studied, but that the Marsden Fund, like most funds of this kind around the world, comes out of a Western tradition of knowledge. That is how things are done. As a professional sociologist, could I say that the definition the member has read out is absolutely right and does not apply at all to this particular fund.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
Could he tell the House what the process is for deciding what research is funded by the Marsden Fund?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Preliminary applications to the Marsden Fund are assessed by one of nine panels, each made up of about eight leading researchers. The top 25 percent of applications are then assessed by international experts, and recommendations are made to the Marsden Council, which makes the final decisions. As an additional check, an independent councillor oversees the process. The fund is governed by strict conflict of interest procedures in order to ensure that panel members have no involvement in the assessment of proposals that they might submit. As I confirmed yesterday, to avoid any perception—and I emphasise the word “perception”—of a conflict of interest, the council agreed recently to prevent panel members from applying for funding from next year.
Dr Paul Hutchison Link to this
When will the report into the Marsden Fund that the Prime Minister said on Radio Pacific she would order, or the report that the Minister said was ordered, as reported by Radio New Zealand and the National Business Review, be available so that the public can be assured that process, prioritisation, and quantum of funding is absolutely robust?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
As I have said repeatedly, I am convinced that the Marsden Fund is absolutely robust and has been ever since the Rt Hon Simon Upton launched that particular fund. What I have said is that the Prime Minister is able to access directly from the Marsden Fund numerous reports on how it works. Unlike the member, I have confidence in Garth Carnaby and the team to provide that information. I have no doubts about its processes.
Dr Paul Hutchison Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I asked a very specific question as to when the report that the Prime Minister ordered will be available to the public, and the Minister failed to answer that very specific question.
Madam SPEAKERI thought the Minister did address the question, but if he wanted to just reinforce his point, he is entitled to do so. But he did address it as to reports.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
As I have said, the report to the Prime Minister is available at any time she asks for it. She has asked for that report, the Marsden Council knows that it may be asked for a report, and, at any time that she wants it, she knows that it is available. But, like me, having discussed this matter, she has total faith in the processes—unlike that member, who now has to go out and explain to the science community why he is trying to undermine this particular fund.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
In light of the Minister’s statement that the Marsden Fund is based “almost exclusively … on a Western tradition of knowledge”, what is he, as responsible Minister, intending to do to ensure that apparent Western bias is addressed, in order to reflect the multicultural nature of education?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I cannot detect any bias, and, therefore, I will not be doing anything.
Dr Paul Hutchison Link to this
I seek leave to table one paper—that is, a report from Radio Pacific, dated 28 September 2006, in which the Prime Minister stated she would be asking for a report about the robust procedures relating to the Marsden Fund.
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I seek leave to table the Royal Society of New Zealand’s code of professional standards and ethics, which applies to the Marsden Fund.