Speech at the opening of the 19th Queenstown Molecular Biology Conference

Thank you to Vic Arcus and the organisers for inviting me to open this year's conference. I'd particularly like to extend my greetings to Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Martin Evans and his wife Judith, Lady Evans.

First, I'd like to congratulate you for 19 years of the Queenstown Molecular Biology Meeting. It is now an eagerly anticipated event in New Zealand's science scene. The conference regularly attracts Nobel Laureates and other leading scientists from around the world. I am also pleased to see the focus that this conference places on supporting and encouraging young researchers.

As you know the theme of this year's meeting is stem cells. It's a topic that is of considerable interest to the public as well as to the research community. I note from the programme the significant level of commitment that New Zealand research groups are making to stem cell research.

Stem cell research has its public image in regenerative therapies and cancer research. For New Zealand, it is a priority to also apply stem cell research to our farm animals, as well as plants. New stem cell research has particular appeal to New Zealand. We naturally have concentrated on biotechnology, whether it is for animals or humans.

Professor Richard Faull, who will be speaking shortly, demonstrates the commitment made in the most sophisticated areas of biotechnology. He and his research team astonished the rest of the world a few years ago by proving that the brain can repair itself by growing new cells.

Professor Faull's work in establishing the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank at the University of Auckland is important for several reasons.  It is an invaluable resource for researchers seeking to understand the brain and its pathologies.

The bank has provided opportunities for New Zealand researchers to collaborate with leading researchers all around the world, which is vital for a small country like ours. 

The degree of public interest in the research and the Huntington community's active support of the brain bank is a testament to Professor Faull's ability to communicate the importance of his research,

As Professor Faull said, "If we are not finding new knowledge and communicating that with the community, we are not doing our job as scientists . . . we must always seek and look for the vision for the enhancement of life."

I am looking forward to hearing Professor Faull talk about his team's research on how the brain can fix itself.

Tonight, I will cover three key issues. The first is the Government's commitment to fundamental research and raising the profile of science. The second is set out how the Government is setting its priorities for research, science and technology and the process that will unfold throughout the rest of the year. Finally I will briefly touch on some of the progress that has already been made.

Fundamental research, such as that undertaken by Professor Faull, and by Professor Sir Martin Evans, is vital for any advanced society. It is from such research that innovations emerge that contribute to our economic and social development.

New Zealand supports fundamental research primarily through the Marsden Fund, the PBRF and through the Health Research Council. The 2009 Budget placed particular emphasis on fundamental research.

The Marsden Fund was increased 24%, from $38 million to $47 million, and PBRF funding was increased by nearly $6 million to $242 million.  An additional $8 million per year was also given to the Health Research Council.

The CRI Capability Fund, which gives CRIs the ability to investigate more speculative research, was also increased by $10 million. These are generous increases given the current fiscal climate, and indicate the importance the Government places on fundamental research.

The Government is also supporting fundamental research through the Centres of Research Excellence, such as the Maurice Wilkins Centre and the National Research Centre for Growth and Development. The CoREs are good examples of collaboration for excellence between institutions.

We are a small country with limited resources so we have to focus on working more effectively together. One of the key actions that assists research partnerships is providing access to expensive or specialised equipment.

This year's Budget committed $12 million to genomics infrastructure that will be available to all New Zealand researchers. Investing in state of the art gene sequencing technologies and bioinformatic capabilities will help New Zealand remain at the leading edge of genetic research.

We are also continuing to support the Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network to help you share and analyse the increasingly complex data that you produce. Upgrading and maintaining infrastructure is essential for an innovative science system.

The Government is also supporting future science opportunities. New Zealand has formally joined Australia in bidding to host the Square Kilometre Array. This formal arrangement has boosted the prospects for the SKA being hosted in Australasia. The broader signal is that this Government backs fundamental science. Co-hosting the SKA would add to New Zealand's potential for innovation, discovery and economic benefit.

Government support for fundamental research requires an understanding of why these commitments are important. The Prime Minister's Science Prizes that we are establishing is one way of publicly highlighting the contributions of science to New Zealand.

The establishment of the position of Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor is another. One of Professor Sir Peter Gluckman's roles is to raise the profile of science in New Zealand, and he has been very active in this over the first two months of his tenure.

Sir Peter has posed the challenge to the science community to really ask and answer questions such as "what is the purpose of science?", "what does it achieve?" and "why should we bother to invest in science?" 

It is the responsibility of every scientist to be able to communicate what they are doing and why. Later this month Sir Peter is holding a workshop with scientists to consider how we can improve the commercialisation of the good ideas that are produced. Part of the improved understanding is demonstrating how science underpins modern economies.

We know that we produce high-quality health research in New Zealand.  In fact, using the traditional academic measures of research quality, we are doing very well. But we need to think well beyond impact as measured by publications and citations.

This year's science Budget was about supporting fundamental research. However, the Government is clear that a critical outcome of science investment is improved economic and social outcomes. We are looking for both direct and indirect performance improvements. 

Two months ago the Prime Minister noted six policy drivers to improve our economic performance. Innovation is one of those drivers, with Government investment in research, science and technology being a major contributor to that.

In a speech last month, I outlined the four themes that the Government will use to guide what we do to improve the productivity of research funding. These themes are:

• enhancing the migration of science from the laboratory to the marketplace


• improving the way we strategically invest in the public good science that underpins our economy


• directly boosting economic growth through more effective market driven research


• simplifying the entire system.

The next few months will be the key period in establishing these themes. It will involve setting priorities.

We have to be more effective in how we use the research funds that we have. As you will know the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology are ensuring the science funding system is easier for scientists as well as businesses to access. The outcome will be clearer priorities, and reduced compliance costs.

Greater clarity as to what we fund in science will also assist the Government in making strategic choices in the future. By clearly identifying what strategic purpose funding actually supports, we can make value judgements about the relative importance of that funding. One of the big decisions we have to make is whether the balance best reflects the overall Government priorities for science.

This is a key priority for me as Minister. I have directed the Ministry and the Foundation develop a more transparent science funding system. We are currently preparing a document for feedback from the sector. This will be targeted at key stakeholders, in order to meet the tight timeframe before planning begins for Budget 2010.

It will enable identification of the high-level strategic purpose for Government-funded research.

It is the Government's intention to focus the funding of science on the areas of most relevance to New Zealand's economic and social future. This is public-good, long-term strategic research such as maintaining collections of flora and fauna and developing a better understanding of our land and sea environments. This research is the foundation that our economy is built on.

A few weeks ago I was at the launch of the Natural Hazards Research Platform. This is a template for future developments in enabling science and collaboration across institutions. We are in the process of clarifying other key priority areas for such platforms and we will fund them on a more strategic basis.

The second area is science that supports our productive sectors. The Prime Minister refers to "the cultures" - agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, aquaculture, silviculture and others. Our comparative advantage in these industries needs to be sustained by science and innovation. We invest in a broad range of science in these sectors because they support our whole economy and standard of living.

The Government will be launching the Primary Growth Partnership later this month, starting with $30 million this year and rising to $70 million in four years' time. This will address key growth and market-led research for "the cultures". Importantly, it will be done in equal partnership with the sectors.

The third area is investing in business-focused technology and innovation. We need to support businesses to develop products and to focus on market-led opportunities.

New Zealand has world-leading companies in digital film, software, medical appliances and high-tech metals, amongst others. The returns and productivity of these companies are very high. They will contribute greatly to the task of lifting New Zealand up the OECD scale.

The Foundation will also be placing greater emphasis on the economic return and commercialisation potential of the investment. Timely and accurate reporting on the benefits of the investment will form part of future assessments.

We already have some good partnerships between research organisations and industries. There is scope to develop these links and increase their effectiveness.

All of this activity - setting priorities, supporting fundamental research through the Budget, appointing the Chief Science Advisor - is done with a purpose. We need research, science and technology to generate more innovation, and lead to greater productivity. This is how the science sector will contribute to the goals that the Prime Minister outlined in July.

Thank you for inviting me to open this conference. The Queenstown Molecular Biology Conference is one of the most significant conferences held in New Zealand, and I trust you will enjoy this year's programme.