August 19 1999
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hon Maurice Williamson
Minister of Research, Science and Technology

AGRICULTURE WILL BENEFIT DESPITE PREBBLE CLAIMS

Act leader Richard Prebble has no understanding of the effect the Bright
Future package will have on agriculture, Research, Science and Technology
Minister Maurice Williamson said today.

"Mr Prebble's claims that the package will cost rural New Zealand $100
million couldn't be further from the truth. The changes will, in fact,
benefit the sector," said Mr Williamson.

"The figure Mr Prebble is quoting is the funding of some existing projects
to be transferred from the Public Good Science Fund (PGSF) to the New
Economy Research Fund (NERF) over four years where the work fits better with
the Government's goal of growing new business."

He said which projects these would be had not yet been determined.

"The challenge for New Zealand is now to build on our clear strengths in
areas including primary industries and create value in whole new areas."

"This is why we established the New Economy Research Fund and if there are
agricultural projects that are better suited to this fund, they may move.

"We need research that means, for example, we can manufacture and sell high
fashion wool products rather than raw wool. This type of research would be
better funded through the NERF rather than the PGSF, which is less
commercially focused," said Mr Williamson.

"The dairy industry, for example, has already recognised the need for such
research having recently announced funding of $150 million over the next
five years. This is entirely consistent with the emphasis shift announced in
the Bright Future package.

"Mr Prebble's remarks couldn't be further from the truth."

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>