Hard News: What I'd really like to know
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Kyle wrote:
It also makes political sense - means you get two bites from the media.
Up to a point, it becomes a little less credible when you're furiously trying to paint the other bastard as a Policy Salome who's hiding something icky under the seventh veil. :)
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It's a pity Jim Anderton doesn't also listen to science when he's making drug policy (and no, I don't regard cherrypicking other drug war obsessives with dubious research methods as "science").
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they could just call it Fast Forwarding Science, FFS.
Craig: Key strikes me more as a Policy Salami. May not actually end up being bad for you, but no idea what's in there.
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More from Jim Anderton
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00233.htmJohn Key still not shutting up. It's been interpreted as trying to build a differentiated brand from Labour, but surely "The guy who wants his own facts" isn't something to try for?
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I know I'm awfully late, but I would like to put in my 2 cents worth on the $700m fund.
Ever since Roger Douglas said agriculture was a sunset industry, NZ'ers have not recognised its true worth. I suffered that when we spent the 80's and 90's in ag research trying to do a good job with ever-shrinking resources. We would have regular farewells for colleagues who had either been made redundant or couldn't stand it anymore. There was no job security, having no further horizon than the next funding round in 3 years time. Research cannot operate like that.
I believe you can count on 1 hand the number of soil & plant nutrition scientists working in research now. This in a country reliant upon this science area.The worst part for me was the belief that NZ depended upon primary production, because there was very little chance that we would find anything that came close to replacing its export $$. And so it turned out.
This Innovation Fund you can see, is a real sea change from past dogma. Not only are we talking serious $$ and private industry having to stump up, but there is now a 15 year timeframe. Wow!
Isn't it great to see Key thinking we do not need it.The irony of it all is that local farmers tells me productivity has doubled since those mid-80's. Amazing.
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Off topic but have I got it right that John Banks has been using ANTEDILUVIAN in his rants on lately?
As far as I can find out means something about being out of date - pre the Great Flood of Biblical times?
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Isn't it great to see Key thinking we do not need it.
I can't understand what advice Key is getting. His argument is 'we don't need it because it doesn't need to be a capital fund the government should just fund it'.
Which in the sound bite media world is of course getting shorted to 'we don't need it', and he looks like a naysayer. Tip for Key: You don't need to just say 'bad' to everything the government does, particularly when most people are going to think what the government is doing is 'good'.
If he wants to be the naysayer, surely his argument should be "the government is only promising to fund 10 - 15 years of research. A national government will put $XXX million dollars into our first budget and it will be there every year from then on, adjusted for inflation, so we can guarantee the research future of NZ'.
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put $XXX million dollars into our first budget and it will be there every year from then on, adjusted for inflation, so we can guarantee the research future of NZ'.
I doubt anyone realizes this but only one funding agency in NZ adjusts grants for inflation and that's the Marsden fund.
That means if you get long term funding 6-8 years there is NO money for pay rises for staff, increased costs in materials, increased overheads etc. Do you think that means that the funding agency staff don't believe in pay rises for themselves either?
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Good points John
If you feel like a face to face meeting of the only "Hard News" commentators in Cromwell I will be working/helping at the Rockburn Winery after Easter for vintage
Any other callers are welcome, should be a glass of wine in it for you
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