Listen Now: 
Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, the Centre for Maori Research Excellence, is set to close at the end of this year.
Director Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal says the Royal Society of New Zealand has dropped it from the shortlist for funding.
That will affect more than 100 researchers from 16 participating research entities who are doing research to benefit Maori communities.
The final decision will be made at ministerial level in May.
Professor Royal says the society seems to be saying that Maori needs aren’t a national priority.
"If they agree that these issues are of national significance they then disagree that Nga Pae is the vehicle to address these issues, which is curious given that we’ve been in existence for over a decade now and haven’t had any substantial indication the direction we are going is insufficient or not worthy of the support," he says.
Professor Royal says the decision is extraordinarily short-sighted in view of New Zealand’s future needs, aspirations and goals.
Research done under Nga Pae include models for educational success, traditional child rearing practices, Maori language revitalisation, resilience of whanau affected by the Christchurch earthquakes, the restoration of the marine environment after the Rena grounding in Tauranga, Maori men’s health, and markers and models of flourishing whanau.
Since 2010 its research has focused on Maori economic development, fostering healthy and prosperous whanau and enhancing Maori distinctiveness, particularly matauranga Maori.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
RELATED NEWS
