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Hi
Friend,
Last year, the Taxpayers' Union called attention to the Health
Research Council and Marsden Funds using taxpayer money for science
research that, well, wasn't scientific at all.
There was the $369,000 study into roadside "Big Things, Complex
Shadows: investigating intersecting stories of place, identity, and
erasure through large roadside sculptures in Aotearoa" (a study
of, literally, the Ohakune giant carrot), or the $861,000 astrology
project, sorry, "study" into "celestial objects and death".
And who could forget the $360,000 cutting edge study into "pacific
gamer girls"...
The Minister for Health at the time, Dr Shane Reti, gave us cause
for celebration when he issued new Ministerial guidelines last
year applicable to the Research Council's grant-making. The Government said that it would
mean future grants would "better align" with the priorities of the
Government and the health system.
In Dr Reit's words:
“What that means is a sharper
focus on real-world projects leading to improved
health and/or health system outcomes, such as improving timely access
to quality healthcare for New Zealanders."
So, our Research Team in Wellington were looking
forward to checking out the first of the four 2025 rounds of "science"
funding.
The War on Waste: Science Edition 🔬
I'm sorry to report, Friend, Dr Shane Reti's
guidelines have been totally ignored. The grants highlighted in this
email were under the current government. Christopher Hipkins and
Ayesha Verrall can't be blamed for these
doozies.
I'm
emailing to ask for your support so we can campaign to force the new
Health Minister, Simeon Brown, to gut the grant panels at the
Health Research Council who, as you will see, are taking the
proverbial.
Just like we forced with the Marsden Fund,
nothing short of a clear out is now needed. We need to narrow the
scope of these out-of-control scientists academics.
Judge for yourself: the 2025 grants so far... 🙄
To recap: the Health Research Council describes itself as "the
home of health research in New Zealand" and claims they are
"here to improve the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders
through our process of identifying and supporting high-quality,
high-value research that delivers far-reaching impact within the
health and science landscape."
First up, water. We all know it's essential to life and to health.
But, oh no, at the Health Research Council, it's the "narratives
about the water" that gets the funding... 🤦
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Ko ngā
pūrākau o ngā wai e rere nei: Narratives about the
water
Recipient Dr Sharyn
Heaton
"This project is about the
multiple perspectives and understandings of wai and au for whānau
wellbeing. Multiple domains of health and well-being will be
interrogated with reference to Māori health and wellbeing conceptual
models."
Approved funding:
$9,980
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Not a huge amount, but still not too bad for an afternoon of
dreamtime, sorry "conceptual modelling".
Now, Friend, over the years we've seen plenty of
examples of research grants being just an excuse for a tropical
holiday (remember the elaborate excuse taxpayer funding to analyse
novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and poems from the
literary hotspots of: Guam, Hawai‘i, Sāmoa, West Papua, Papua New
Guinea, and Fiji?) well we have yet another!
How would you like three years' worth of trips to the Cook
Islands to (checks notes) write a report about "reconceptualising"
sports participation by local kids? $127,000 for flights and
accommodation in the Cook Islands.
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Reconceptualising
physical literacy for Cook Islands Māori
Recipients Ms Katrina Sharlott, Dr
Lara Vlietstra, Dr Troy Ruhe, Professor Chris Button
"Physical literacy is a rising
concept in health promotion, offering a nuanced and holistic approach
to incorporating physical activity across the lifespan. Despite its
potential, the discourse on physical literacy has notably overlooked
the inclusion of Pacific voices and Indigenous perspectives to date.
Cultural relevancy is critical to the success of health promotion
strategies, as beliefs, values, and cultural background significantly
influence a population's reception of health messages."
Approved funding:
$127,000
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Why stop at three years when you can do six years of trips
to the Cooks? 🏝️
Now if any doubt remains that nothing at the Health Research
Council has changed, back in 2018, the very same Dr Troy Ruhe was
given $133,550.00 to head to the Cook Islands to write his PHD
on – you guessed it – physical activity by the locals!
Yes, really. This is truly life-saving stuff, and is a theme
of the Health Research Council's work international travel.
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The effectiveness of
circuit-based exercise in Cook Islands
communities
Recipients Dr Troy Ruhe
"The proposed research is a
physical activity intervention that will take place in Cook Island
communities of both New Zealand and within the Cook Islands. The
development of a physical activity programme which comprises movements
of traditional Cook Islands daily activities of food gathering and
preparation has been piloted to test the feasibility and acceptability
of such imagery. The main aim of the study is to determine effective
strategies to increase physical activity adherence within Cook Islands
communities. This aim will be achieved through developing a validated
strength-based model for Cook Islands health through the medium of
physical activity incorporating Cook Islands values, belief systems
and principles within a Cook Islands framework."
Approved funding:
$133,550
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You have to take your hat off to Dr Ruhe. According to his Otago
University bio, he is "a physical
activity specialist in the Pacific region" and
"Passionate about bringing indigenous ways of
knowing into mainstream research"
"Indigenous ways of knowing into mainstream research".
That's just how we got to whale song for Kauri trees, and now
apparently business class trips to the Cooks too. Nice for some! 👍
Now to another important area of research: the leadership potential
of Māori veterans. Obviously we know the military to civilian
transition is difficult to navigate, but is this reeeeally a
health research
project?
According to the boffins at the Health Research Council, it sure
is. Under the "Health Issue" research classification of "Wellbeing
(autonomy self-determination)" they've shoehorned interviews, sorry,
"narrative inquiry" of vets into health sciences.
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He Pito
Mata - realising leadership potential of rangatahi Māori
veterans
Recipients Dr Tepora Emery, Mr Jamie
Emery
"He Pito Mata is a rangahau
hauora training course within the He Toa Taumata Rau research project.
Using narrative inquiry, the He Toa researchers are learning about the
complexities of military to civilian transition and analysing the
stories of a diverse group of Māori veterans who have reported many
struggles and stresses throughout the transition journey."
Approved funding:
$12,000
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Mixing traditional Rongoā with traditional...
Acid?! 😵💫
Now no one could doubt that drug addiction is a real health issue.
So, the good people at the Health Research Council have awarded
quarter of a million dollars to mix Rongoā (that is, traditional
Māori massage and prayer) with acid psychedelic drugs. Nothing
will support someone with drug addiction than giving
traditional spiritual indigenous healers treatment options of
psychedelics, right? In any case, this got $265,000:
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Marae-Based Rongoā and
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Methamphetamine Use
Recipients Ms Anna-Leigh Hodge, Associate Professor Suresh
Muthukumaraswamy, Dr Anna
Rolleston, Dr Anna
Forsyth, Dr Tehseen
Noorani
"This study explores the
potential of combining traditional Māori healing (Rongoā) with
psychedelic-assisted therapy to support individuals recovering from
methamphetamine addiction. The research will assess the effectiveness
of this culturally grounded approach in improving mental health and
substance abuse outcomes."
Approved funding:
$265,000
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Women's, sorry, "Pregnant people's" health in New Zealand is
apparently nailed. Health Research is all about the Dads,
apparently. $411,819.00 for this:
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Hutia te rito: Māori men,
birthing and whānau ora
Recipient Dr. Kenneth
Taiapa
"On one hand tāne learn that they
have little or no role as men within hapūtanga and birthing and, on
the other, they learn they are absent and irresponsible parents. This
project will provide practical knowledge about the roles that tāne had
and can have. By gathering experiences and stories from tāne Māori,
speaking to experts in hapūtanga and the roles of tāne and working in
collaborative ways with multiple stakeholders, the project team will
identify actions and work to implement change. Because hapūtanga is a
critical time, positive experiences and connections can strengthen
whānau beyond pregnancy and birth."
Approved funding:
$411,819
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Call the Taxpayers' Union out for nitpicking, but "speaking
to experts" and finding "collaborative ways with multiple
stakeholders" to "identify actions" ... to implement change" is a
social science, not health research.
This is another of the "Wellbeing (autonomy
self-determination)" grants. Again, how do you possibly claim this is
"science" let alone (to use the Minister's words) "a sharper focus
on real-world projects leading to improved health
and/or health system outcomes, such as improving timely access to
quality healthcare for New Zealanders"
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He oranga reo he oranga
tangata: te reo Māori use at the University of Otago
Recipient Mr Flynn Macredie, Dr
Julia Wilson
"Māori culture and Māori language
are inseparable, with the language itself being generated from and in
turn influencing the experiences of the peoples that speak it.
'Manaakitia te Reo' is a project at the University of Otago (UoO)
which explores how assessment in te reo Māori not in language learning
contexts can be better supported by the university. Māori and
non-Māori UoO staff from a variety of departments and backgrounds were
interviewed. These are highly motivated individuals working in a
colonial system who, in pursuing te reo Māori, are attempting to
reinvent themselves by reclaiming culture and language while also
reinventing the contexts in which they work. During interviews
participants commented on wider experiences of learning and using te
reo Māori in their respective contexts. In this summer studentship,
the connection between te reo Māori and health will be explored using
interview data obtained from ‘Manaakitia te Reo’."
Approved funding:
$7,500
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For context, Manaakitia te Reo means
"Tauira perceptions towards maintaining te
reo use in higher education" and has received undisclosed
Whatua Tū Aka Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (taxpayer)
funding separately.
Friend, if we don’t shine a light on this kind of wasteful
spending, who will?
Whenever the Taxpayers' Union expose wasteful science
spending, we get hated on in the media and online. But we make no
apology for fighting for value for money, even when it's not PC to do
so.
Of course, we worry that so much of what we
uncover has an indigenous or Māori element. But that's not because we
are being selective. In order to get funding, scientists who
email us say that every project has to have an indigenous
element.
But our opponents will still use labels of 'racism' to
attack us, and we rely on your support to fight back.
For every dollar wasted on this "research",
there is one less for actual health science that could save
lives.
Only the Taxpayers' Union is exposing this
stuff, but we rely on your support to keep at it, demand
accountability, and put pressure on the Government to stop these rorts
and start funding real science.
If
you think funding projects like "narratives about water" while
hospitals are at breaking point needs to be exposed, please chip in
and support the Taxpayers' Union today with a confidential
donation.
Thank you for your support.
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Jordan
Williams
Executive Director
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
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