|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact person |
Role |
Contact numbers |
|
Murray Wright |
Executive Director |
04 474 8260 021 425 645 |
|
David Ryan |
Acting Manager - Science & Innovation |
[withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] |
|
Deepti Chotai |
Senior Advisor |
|
|
Hew Norris |
Advisor |
|
|
Chris Hewson |
Senior Advisor |
|
|
Steve Rich |
Appointments & Governance Manager |
04 474 8268 021 445 180 |
CCMAU has historically covered a portion of the salary of a secondee from the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) in the Minister’s office, currently Joana Johnston. We consider that the person in this role is an important conduit between CCMAU and your office, and we would be keen to maintain this link.
We consider that the following issues will require your immediate attention.
[withheld under OIA sections 9(2)(f)(iv), 9(2)(i), 9(2)(j), 9(2)(b)(ii)] for
In September 2007, shareholding Ministers (the Minister of Finance, the Minister for CRIs, and the Minister for SOEs) met with Alison Paterson, facilitator of discussions between NIWA and MetService. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the outcome of the discussions which aimed to address ways in which the two companies could collaborate more closely. [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(f)(iv)]
In July 2007, Dr Paul Hutchison MP made a request under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) asking for documentation relating to the NIWA/MetService discussions. The Minister for CRIs released a number of documents but withheld the final report (the outcome of the discussions between the two companies), MoU and associated documents on the grounds that it was advice that Ministers were still considering. Subsequently, the Office of the Ombudsmen received a complaint from Dr Hutchison and has now asked for a copy of the documentation in question.
We are drafting a reply to the Office of the Ombudsmen noting that [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(f)(iv)]
[withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] MP wrote to the Minister for CRIs on 25 October 2007 passing on a concern by a constituent regarding the actions of an ESR staff member on an external standard-setting committee. The constituent, [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] claims that it is inappropriate for a staff member of ESR, which competes with [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] in the workplace drug-testing market, to set standards for the industry. [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] also claims that the ESR staff member and a close personal friend on the same committee have been telling members of the drug-testing industry that [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] will not meet the new standard and have been promoting testing devices sold by the friend’s firm.
We are currently seeking to establish the facts in this matter and will draft a response for you to send to [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(a)] shortly.
You are scheduled to meet with the PSA and CRI chairs on 6 December 2007 as part of a series of regular tripartite meetings established between the former Minister for CRIs, CRI chairs, and the PSA. These meetings do not aim to discuss staff salary levels or other employment issues (which are the responsibility of the CRIs themselves) but are opportunities to discuss general CRI workforce issues.
Richard Wagstaff, National Secretary of the PSA, wrote on 5 October 2007 asking to meet separately to discuss the partnership for quality agreement (PQA) between the government and the PSA. We have drafted a response indicating that you will place the PQA on the agenda for the meeting on 6 December 2007.
AgResearch may announce that it intends to sell part of its Flock House farm near Bulls. There has typically been broad public interest when CRIs sell property. Speculation in early 2006 that AgResearch would sell its Flock House farm led to correspondence from the local Opposition MP and a Bulls business association.
NIWA has a salmon hatchery at Silverstream (north of Christchurch on the Kaiapoi River) where salmon are raised for on-sale to commercial farms for growth to market size. NIWA considers that the hatchery has reached a point where it is more suitable for private sector ownership and is seeking to divest itself of this operation. The value of the hatchery is likely to [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(j)] and, hence, below the $5 million threshold for Ministerial approval.
The planned sale is drawing on-going interest from industry with concerns raised that a sale to one industry member could result in a loss of supply to other industry players. Gerry Brownlee MP has recently contacted the Chair of NIWA to raise these concerns. We understand from NIWA that the company will take this issue into account when considering offers for the hatchery. [withheld under OIA section 9(2)(j)]
Crop & Food Research has submitted a request for $2.5 million from the EIF. The EIF is a dedicated fund established to help the CRIs with their commercialisation activities. The current balance in the EIF is $5 million.
Crop & Food Research wishes to seek funding to expand its Gracelinc facility in Christchurch. Gracelinc manufactures Glucagel, a naturally extracted barley beta glucan which can be used as a substitute for fat in processed foods. [withheld under OIA sections 9(2)(i), 9(2)(j) and 9(2)(b)(ii)] Crop & Food Research has already received $6 million from the EIF, most of which has already been spent on Gracelinc.
We expect to provide our advice on the EIF request by mid-November 2007.
It is the custom that the responsible Minister for CRIs sends an outlook letter and draft Operating Framework to CRIs in December each year. The outlook letter is standard and outlines expectations around the timing and content of CRI draft strategic plans which are due with shareholding Ministers by 1 May each year.
The Operating Framework is a document that outlines shareholding Ministers’ general expectations for CRI financial and non-financial performance. Its content is generally stable, although changes are made each year to clarify or reinforce expectations, where required.
It is also the custom that the responsible Minister for CRIs visits each CRI in January/February each year. These visits are usually an opportunity to discuss strategic issues with the board and to get to know each company’s areas of science. Planning will need to commence shortly for the 2008 visits.
We would like to seek your view on content for the 2008 Operating Framework and the timing of its release and your first visits to the CRIs. Should you wish to maintain the customary timing, work on the outlook letter and Operating Framework will need to be commenced shortly and arrangements made for CRI visits.
[withheld under OIA sections 9(2)(b)(ii), 9(2)(i) and 9(2)(j)]
The 2008 CRI appointment round is a significant issue requiring your consideration. Approximately 23 positions will be considered in the first half of 2008 (including the positions of three chairs). We will begin to engage with you on this appointment round later in 2007, particularly to seek your views on the process to be followed for considering these positions. Although final decisions may not occur until closer to June 2008, there is considerable lead-in work involved in managing the process (especially for this number of appointments) and this will need to commence well before the end of 2007. We will also endeavour to move the process forward a little to avoid any conflict with pre-election timeframes.
Currently, there are vacancies on the boards of three CRIs (AgResearch, NIWA and Landcare Research). These are vacancies that could not be filled during the CRI appointment round that concluded in July 2007, and we will be reporting on these vacancies as a separate exercise from the 2008 board appointment round. In the case of both AgResearch and NIWA, we are targeting candidates who could take over the role of Chair when the current Chairs of those companies step down in 2008.