Wally Woolly #6 I agree with you regarding the transfer of funding from housing into more productive areas of the economy and was a bit disappointed this wasn't really addressed in the budget. I don't think Tax credits encourage new research enough. Making funding long term for CRI's is likely to result in R&D that will be more useful for NZ. Also making R&D facilities for small businesses will encourage R&D much more then a tax credit would. Tax credits would not do nearly enough for improve our research capability as there are underlying problems which have a huge impact. National is trying to address these issues.

Richard #5 To answer your question first I would think that my own expertise is knowing what works best in my own business and as far as R&D goes, I know what works and what doesn't. Everone knows R&D is expensive and invloves long term investment. To me tax credits help alleviate this commitment. However as you say that the government is able to free up capital for businesses investment (whilst simultaneously diverting it from nonproductive housing)then I'll be a bit happier.But I'll wait with bated breath til the Budget on what the government plans to do to encourage private sector R&D.

I think they are absolutely providing leadership in this area and many others. Unlike Labour (and other governments) they are involving the people who actually know about these things to help in forming policy. We don't know for sure what will be in the budget but some of the changes they have talked about sound very good (i.e. longer term funding, R&D facilities for small businesses, less competition for funding). What makes you think Wally Woolly #4 that you know more about R&D then the people appointed to the task force? If they don't adopt the recommendations then agreed they are fair game.

Hi Richard - Sorry I don't understand your comments. I see it as highly beneficial for companies to receive tax credits for R&D. I can't see that it's really about the government chucking money at firms as the R&D is directed by the firms themselves. I haven't seen the government take much of an approach at encouraging private sector investment. I don't see this government as having much vision or leadership in this area at all. Infact the abolition of tax breaks and the appointment of more pointy heads says that this government is swinging leftward on this.

jo2lo #1 there is very strong evidence that R&D tax credits as put forward by labour are not a good way to promote R&D hence why they were scrapped. Of course the media did a poor job (as usual) of explaining this. They would essentially be giving tax credits to companies that would be doing the research anyway. National is doing a great job at getting experts in to try and give R&D a boost. You would rather they just throw money at it without looking at how the the area of R&D is operating/funded. Have you even read some of the things they are proposing? Another sour grapes Labour supporter.

An excellent article. But scientific research and understanding requires that our leaders, for they hold the purse strings, take a long term commitment towards those goals. This has been done in countries such as China and India where the financial rewards speak for themselves as they head global economies and their people prosper.

None of this can happen unless politicians have vision - a view of the future beyond the next election - so that scientists can get on with their projects without interference. I have confidence that scientific research can deliver the goods, I'm not too certain that we have any politicians with vision.

The geographical isolation of this country should not be a barrier to success. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson " If you can build a better mousetrap the world will beat a pathway to your door"

Another U-Turn by the National Party. When they arrived in office one of their first actions was to remove tax concessions for R&D. All governments seem keen on promoting improved productivity from all sectors, but appearances are that governments seem to think that low productivity is due to a lazy or uncommitted workforce. Tertiary education and industry based training can only go so far. Instead productivity should be the initiative of both business in the private sector to implement innovative ideas, and encouraged by tax concessions and promotion of R&D by the government. This would result in higher added value to our primary products and other commodity items that we are currently shipping overseas in a raw state when we should be using our technical prowess to ship out high value specialist goods. That will improve employment opportunities for our workforce and mean that we don't need to ship manufacturing off overseas.