GNS Science Cuts Risk New Zealand’s International Reputation

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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