Why do we need to make this a “Maori” thing?

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell today announced the third annual investment in the Vision Mātauranga Science Fund, which was established to grow skills and capacity in science and innovation and support outcomes that benefit Māori and New Zealand.

A total of $1.9 million will be invested in 17 new programmes over the next two years,” Mr Joyce says. “This is in addition to the $2.4 million invested in 2013 and $1.8 million in 2014.

“The Fund aims to strengthen connections between Māori and the science and innovation system, and is one of the Government’s mechanisms to support Māori economic development.”

The so called Maori economy in NZ is valued at around $40 billion and they still need govt handouts?

But wait, there’s more-

Fourteen new companies will be able to increase their investment in R&D through Growth Grants worth up to $15.8 million over three years. Callaghan Innovation’s R&D grants programme is aimed at bringing New Zealand’s levels of private R&D investment and innovation closer to those of our major trading partners.

Growth Grants meet 20 percent of the cost of an eligible firm’s R&D programme.  A total of 152 hi-tech companies have now been awarded grants worth up to $356 million. That will in turn support business spend on R&D of up to $1.5 billion over three years.

Same old same old socialist cronyism. Govt picking winners. Yet another reason not to support National, whose own founding principles state- “to oppose interference by the State in business, and State control of industry”.

Sid Holland got it but Steven Joyce is never going to get it. He doesn’t get racism and separatism and he doesn’t get that the best govt is the govt that governs least.

Here’s what the Taxpayer’s Union says about Callaghan Innovation’s R & D grants-

The Taxpayers’ Union is shocked that the Government is wasting the last $80 million of the ‘Future Investment Fund’ on corporate welfare through Callaghan Innovation’s ‘R&D grants’.

“This is corporate welfare under the guise of ‘innovation’,” says Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams. “The fund was meant for health, education and infrastructure, not hand outs to private business.”

“Callaghan Innovation gives money to private businesses that pocket the returns. As Sam Morgan has previously pointed out, the main “R&D” component of the grants is the creation of a whole industry who write proposals so companies can cash in.”

“As examined in our report on corporate welfare, Monopoly Money, Government funded R&D grants have a long history of poor returns. We think it is shocking that the Government’s priority is corporate welfare over front line services.”

The Taxpayer’s Union has also commissioned a report entitled Monopoly Money, which examines the cost of corporate welfare since the 2007/2008 budget, shows:

• Since National took office, corporate welfare has cost taxpayers $1-1.4 billion ($600 – $800 per household) per year
• If corporate welfare was abolished, enough money would be saved to reduce the corporate tax rate from 28% to 22.5%
• If applied to personal income tax rates, the saving would allow the 30% and 33% income tax rates to be lowered to 29%
• Alternatively, the 10.5% rate (applicable to the first $14,000 of income) could be reduced to 7%.