Official advice on controversial changes to the Marsden Fund has still not been released by the government, more than two months after the announcement.
On December 4, then science, innovation and technology minister Judith Collins released details of a "refocused" Marsden Fund, which traditionally supported those involved in blue-skies, or basic, research.
She axed support for humanities and social science research and introduced a new requirement about 50% of the fund go towards proposals with clear economic benefits.
"The focus of the fund will shift to core science, with the humanities and social sciences panels disbanded. Real impact on our economy will come from areas such as physics, chemistry, maths, engineering and biomedical sciences," Ms Collins said at the time.
Her changes came from left field and stunned many researchers, academics and those in the science sector.
There was widespread criticism for the lack of consultation at all levels and the likely effects of the changes on young scientists and Māori and Pacific researchers.
Scathing letters were written to Ms Collins by top scholars, the Royal Society Te Apārangi, universities and the New Zealand Association of Scientists.
On December 7, the Otago Daily Times wrote to Ms Collins asking for copies of all advice she received which informed her decision to make changes to the Marsden Fund, including any specific advice to stop supporting the humanities and social sciences.
The Official Information Act request was acknowledged two days later, but gave no indication of when a response would be made.
On January 13, Ms Collins’ office said a reply was due on the 27th of that month. However, three days before the reply was due, Ms Collins was replaced as science minister by Shane Reti.
On the 27th of last month, Dr Reti’s office extended the request to February 11 because of "consultations and collation necessary".
Inquiries on Tuesday about the information’s release had still not been answered yesterday.
By Paul Gorman
