Government shuffles $122m of science funding to focus more on emerging technologies

Science Minister Shane Reti.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The government is reallocating $122 million of existing spending on science, innovation and technology to focus more investment in emerging and advanced technologies, such as quantum technology, robotics and genomics.

Science Minister Shane Reti said the policy change would help New Zealand take the lead in niche areas where it could be as globally competitive as other small advanced economies, such as Singapore and Ireland.

“Now is the moment … to seed that thinking. To seed those new things,” Dr Reti said, speaking off the cuff to about 100 scientists, investors and innovators attending a Sprout Agritech summit in Auckland.

“Because otherwise what will happen, amongst other things, officials will lock in things … things really hard to undo.

“Fly, be bold. I’m giving you a simplified structure to do exactly that.

“Also remember. We can’t do everything.”

For example, he said New Zealand could not be brilliant at all aspects of quantum technology, which covered a broad range of applications, such as computing and communications, but could build on its leadership in photonics.

He said the policy shift would also be “regulatory light”, with details to be released over the course of the year.

“You can be out there and go right to the edge, right to the envelope, and using emerging technologies.”

The shift would see funding going to sectors which had not received funding in the past, including defence and space, while others would get more funding, such as infrastrucuture and industrial production.

There would be a reweighting in funding allocations, to put more more money into mission-led work (60 percent rather than 45 percent) and less into investigator-led work (40 percent rather than 55 percent).

The $122m of funding (about 15 percent of the total $839m available) would be allocated to support the four thematic pillars as follows:

• Primary industry and bioeconomy
• Technology for prosperity
• Environmental sustainability
• Healthy people and a thriving society

Reti said the type of innovation that falls under the four pillars was the use of robotics in the agri-tech sector.

“The example of robotic automation was a kiwifruit grower in Kerikeri who’s using drone technology to image his kiwifruit and make decisions about it. That’s cool. That will give us a competitive advantage,” he said.

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