Venue: New Zealand Maritime Museum, Quay Street, Auckland

Time: 6pm, 30th June 2008

Good evening and thank you for the welcome Peter.

I’d like to start by congratulating you, and everyone else, for the considerable work that has gone into making the Centre a reality.

I know it hasn’t happened overnight, but I’m sure your efforts are going to be enduring.

I thought my role in tonight’s celebrations should be to provide some background on where the idea of the Centre emerged.

I’m a fan of the late Alan MacDiarmid’s view that it doesn’t matter how astounding a piece of research is if it never emerges from the lab. In that sense scientists and the media have a common focus. The potential beneficiary of a scientific advancement is also a reader, viewer or listener.

There is great science going on in New Zealand. There are some incredibly talented people, some of who are on show tonight, working in areas that are making a difference to New Zealand.

In some cases that difference will occur over a long time. In some cases it won’t be obvious that the genesis of the changes we see emerged from the creativity and hard work of a researcher.

We know, for example, about the great work the CRI HortResearch has done over many years to develop new apple and kiwifruit varieties. Those breakthroughs are now earning New Zealand countless millions in exports and will have a crucial role in the future viability of our pipfruit industry.

But what about the research done at the University of Otago that identified hormones in the bloodstream that can accurately predict heart failure? These findings are now part of international guidelines on cardiovascular disease treatment.

How many people in New Zealand, let alone around the world, sitting in doctors’ surgeries know their treatment for heart disease has, in part, been shaped by that work?

It is incredibly important, not just to those working in research organisations, but to all of us that there is widespread awareness of their work, its implications and its applications.

In this context it is easy to see the importance of strong links between the media and science. However, I think the relationship between science and the media gets a great deal more complex.

There will always be debate around the path New Zealand should take in the future. What is clear is that science and technology will be at the heart of the opportunities and challenges we face.

This highlights part of the complexity in the relationship between science and society. Picking up another quote – from Einstein this time – “science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be. Outside of its domain, value judgements of all kinds remain necessary.”

What are “appropriate” rules around stem cell research? How far should genetic modification be applied in our primary industries? How do we balance preventing and solving crimes using the quite amazing advances in DNA profiling against the rights to personal privacy?

Whatever the answers, the media has a central role in shaping the decisions and giving society the ability for its voice to be heard in the debate around those value judgements.

That can only be helped if there are strong links between the science and media sectors.

So the government is playing its part. Last month’s Budget saw extra funding allocated to the Centre. The Centre has an important role to play and I want to make sure that it has every chance to get on and deliver.

The last point I want to make is about the independence of the Centre. It is a point I want to emphasise. When the work behind the Centre started, it was obvious that it had to be independent. The feedback during discussions with both the media and science sectors as the Centre developed reinforced that.

The Centre is a standalone broker between the media and the science sector. The government initiated it and is funding it, but in a way that ensures the Centre’s activities and operations are in no way influenced by the government.

The Centre’s terms of Reference are on its website to ensure the relationship between the Centre, the Royal Society and the government is transparent.

Equally, the Centre’s job isn’t to promote a science view on issues like climate change or genetic modification and the like. Instead, it will provide support and links into the science sector so, you the media, can access the information you need to do your job.

Conclusion

The idea that New Zealand can get by on a number eight wire mentality, let along celebrate it doesn’t wash with me.

This is the 21st Century. If we are going to succeed, we need to have a far more sophisticated national awareness of the role science and technology need to play in our future.

I know the link between the work of the Science Media Centre and a change in Kiwi culture is a distant one, but there is a link nonetheless.

I’m delighted that tomorrow the Centre opens its doors. I look forward with much anticipation to it bringing the media and science community closer together and the discussions and debates that will hopefully result.