Wellington
Among the (little) talk of Labour’s shadow cabinet line-up, one small fact’s escaped generalnotice.
New Opposition leader David Shearer has retained the Science & Innovation portfolio.
Excellent.
This is the first time since the 1930s that either the Prime Minister or the leader of theopposition has held this role. (George Forbes had it back then).
Firstly it indicates that Shearer wasn’t just seat warming when he had the shadow S&Iportfolio pre-election.
Secondly, it indicates that, given he could’ve presumably taken any shadow-portfolio role hewanted, he sees S&I as being important, by definition the most important aspect, in the wholescheme of lifting New Zealand’s wealth.
With deputy Grant Robertson taking on the tertiary education, skills and training role, and DavidCunliffe fronting up on economic development, Steven Joyce is going to find some welcome (from thecountry’s point of view) pressure to deliver on the super-portfolios he’s taken onboard.
In fact, having a strong income-creating, as opposed to money-spending shadow ministers at thetop of his caucus, will be a powerful indicator to middle NZ that Labour’s looking for a newdirection.
Shearer’s new mini-mantra, ‘clean, green, clever and innovative’ also has the welcome lookof an agenda (we won’t use the word strategy) about it.
As National kicks off the New Year, it will have to be careful it isn’t outflanked in theScience & Innovation stakes.
Sure, IRL’s going to morph into a High-Tech HQ (or Advanced Technology Institute or whatever itwill be called), with double the number of staff over the next few years.
But, it can’t be expected to, nor should it be lumbered with, having to defacto create aS&I strategy on behalf of the country. It is part of the solution, a big part, but part of awhole.
That whole should, as has happened in Denmark, Finland, Singapore and Switzerland, start with aScience & Innovation Council headed by a very senior minister (Key preferably, otherwise Joyce).
Such a council, in conjunction with wider industry, research and academia, is the best place,really the only place, from which to drive a collective sense of ‘this is what we’re trying todo/this is where we’re heading’ (note the lack of use of the word strategy – a bit of a no-noword in National parlance, so we’ll just call it an ‘action plan’).
The need for a collective sense of action and a wider ownership is also why the Ministry ofScience and Innovation can’t come up with such an action plan.
And though ‘clean, green, clever and innovative’ isn’t anywhere near being a plan ofaction, it slips off the tongue quite well, and could serve Shearer well if Joyce doesn’tdeliver.
So, David Shearer, a big ups for the surprise of keeping the S&I portfolio to yourself.
In reality, being much cleverer, using our biological resources better and figuring out the nichehigh-tech areas in which we can succeed is the only way for New Zealand to get itself out of (whatis still, essentially) a commodity mindset.
In other words, the notion that agriculture et al are sunset industries is wrong. Everything’scomplementary in today and tomorrow’s economy – let’s just do it all much better. Have a lookat the latest Bioscience report to see how well we’re on some of these fronts.
As Shearer gets out, and talks to those he’d want to attract as voters, talking science,talking innovation, will be a way for Labour to differentiate itself from its past, and potentiallydifferentiate itself from National – if National’s not too careful.
Unexpectedly, the ball’s suddenly back in your court now Mr Joyce.