Posts of Community Host RSSWed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:13 GMTOn safety, learning, and what we lose when we iron out the unexpected.# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2026-04-07T22:54:00+0000

]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:13 GMTDr Shane Reti's last act as Minister was to release a Prioritisation, that appears to have been prepared by MBIE with some input from PMSTIAC to feed into the Budget government will release on 28 May. We have serious concerns, that we encourage the new Minister Penny Simmonds to consider carefully if she is to be seen as an effective minister, stepping into roles in Cabinet. The 22% cut to research that supports the primary sector and 60-70% of our exports will be a deep blow to the ongoing competitiveness of the sector on the international stage. Cuts to Environment and Health are also questionable, given that NZ's tech sector sees decades to pay off and usually must generate the pay offs overseas. Our Co-President's immediate comments can be found on our Releases Page as PDF and is below. It expands on comments available at the Science Media Centre's Expert Reaction. Our concerns were well covered in Farmers Weekly. Sci-Tech Prioritisation Report is a Joke That Could Cost NZ Dearly 1 April 2026 “The Prioritisation Report released today (April 1) by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system, and appears to have been rushed out the door on the eve of the expected Cabinet reshuffle. It could cost our high-performing export sectors dearly by undermining the research that drives their international competitiveness. This report appears to signal many further job losses and irreversible losses of expertise.” says New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) Co-President Troy Baisden.  Co-President Lucy Stewart summarises the report’s findings and its problems: “The core challenge faced by the research and science system in Aotearoa New Zealand is underfunding. After several consecutive years of cuts including around 700 (and counting) job losses, the best proposal the government has appears to be robbing Peter to pay Paul: taking money from all other areas of r... Read more

]]>Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:11 GMTRata puts in writing her desire to use curriculum to 'end decolonisation's success'.# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2026-03-18T06:26:00+0000

]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:11 GMTCan we remain a small advanced nation with ongoing losses of our science workforce?  access pdf versions on our releases page “Two years of science reforms are best described as squeezing more juice from the same fruit,  rather than planting and managing our orchards,” says New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) Co-President Troy Baisden.[1] “That's a tough pill to swallow as another 134 roles, including 86 scientists, are going at the newly merged Bioeconomy Science Institute. The job losses appear to be driven by tight budgets, not efficiency generated by having a coordinated strategy in place.”  “With science roles continuing to go out the door with no strategies in place, there’s no prospect of achieving the growth the government claims it is seeking. Worse, the long-term support for research as the driver of productivity is being defunded so fast that discussion has turned to whether we’ll lose our place in the club of small, advanced economies.” [2] [3] Co-President Lucy Stewart adds, “The government has effectively run out of time to look after our demoralised science workforce before the election closes in. The big issues remain completely unaddressed, from crippling overheads[4] to dysfunctional early and mid-career roles.”[5] “We’ve swapped out managers and logos, which gets nothing meaningful done. Science is done by scientists, and we’re losing scientists at a rate unprecedented in decades. We have very few new initiatives in areas of national strength or clear need.” Baisden points out, “The obvious steps to look after the science workforce were clear from extensive consultation in the previous reform. It was perhaps the most important of four pillars.[6] How could obvious steps have been lost?” “We’re releasing our 15-point workforce strategy as a reminder to the government and MBIE that action can be taken on it at any time. It also serves as the backbone of our election platform we’ll be putting t... Read more

]]>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:25 GMTWhen 'the science of learning' leads us to oppression, what should we do?# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2026-03-03T08:00:00+0000

]]>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:32 GMTScience reforms failing before they’ve started, yet again  “Scientists began last year wondering if their careers were stuck in a process of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic or a game of musical chairs. We start 2026 knowing it is both at the same time,” says New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) Co-President Troy Baisden.  “The question now to ask is how much Aotearoa New Zealand will suffer, relative to our peer nations, as our knowledge and experts continue to disappear when they are needed.” He adds, “The SSAG reports were very clear in saying failure to support our public research system, its people and their connections, is at the root of our productivity issues and lagging economy.”  “Sadly, the current reform doubles down on failures of the ministry and successive ministers to support our institutions and scientists to deliver what the public and our struggling economy deserves.” “Rather than plastering over the failures, there are obvious steps of accountability and transparency that must be called for as we head toward an election. Here, we outline three.” “After compounding decades of incremental failures and avoiding every effort at foresight and advice based on international norms, we’ve arrived at a big question. Are we choosing to fall out of the club of developed and advanced nations[1][2] – simply because we won’t invest in our future? Baisden says, “The election year is a chance to choose our future and demand an escape from endless failures and the loss of accountability we see when successive ministers claim the loss of jobs and capability is an operational issue in institutions, and institutions claim cuts are forced on them by funding provided by the minister and government. No one has a strategic sense of what we’re choosing to lose by pursuing cut after cut.”    “The loss of accountability has spiralled completely out of control: ●      More funding disappea... Read more

]]>Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:24 GMTA critical response to Stanford's justification for removing Te Tiriti from Board responsibilities.# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2026-01-07T02:46:00+0000

]]>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:24 GMTThe legislative amendments offer a legal way to keep Te Tiriti alive in your strategic plan.# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2025-11-04T19:17:00+0000

]]>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:24 GMTThere is more at stake with the surprise release of the new new English and Maths curricula today.# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2025-10-20T03:18:00+0000

]]>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:24 GMTWhy is Stanford's framing about culture so similar to Rata's?# Content-Attribution # Source: bevanholloway.com Date: 2025-09-01T04:30:00+0000

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