Prasad Rajen: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Prasad Rajen: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:673;Page:19439] 
Dr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour) 
: 
 I thank the member in the chair the member for Wellington Central for inviting us to reflect on clause 7 as a whole and to reflect on the fact that there for the first time we are being invited to think about the inclusion of the humanities alongside everything else. I appreciate the member in the chair reminding us that we are not just bolting something else on to an existing structure; it actually means something quite different. I will take up his invitation to reflect on the functions of the Royal Society in that particular light. I mention in passing that it is good to hear the members in the chair beginning to sound like professors—“Professor Robertson”. I thought “Professor Hodgson” did a sterling job even though I did not agree with all of his explanations particularly those about social sciences and the humanities. 
It is important to look at the functions of the Royal Society and contemplate what the humanities will get out of entering this pool of scientists as a whole through the Royal Society and achieving that kind of elevation which I want to reflect on. All interests are elevated: the interests of science and technology as well as those of the humanities. All boats are lifted by the way in which the member in the chair has encouraged us to think about the functions of the society. 
Look at new section 6(a): “to foster in the New Zealand community a culture that supports science technology and the humanities”. I think section 6(a)(i) adds to the bill something very important which is “the promotion of public awareness”. I can sincerely say that as a social scientist an academic at a university and a person belonging to a profession that calls on the humanities to develop its own graduates at times the level of public awareness of what the humanities can contribute to any profession one cares to name is often missing. We went around recruiting students in their last year of high school to go to university and we encouraged them in addition to the specialities they wanted to develop to build into their degrees those subjects and disciplines that would help them to think to develop their minds to think about our society and to think about those disciplines and subjects that take us somewhere we do not normally go. That is what the humanities do. This function of promoting public awareness of what now also includes the humanities if looked at it in a composite kind of way—and this is a sincere comment—is quite amazing. Promoting public awareness is already included in the way the American academic system thinks about the role of a university. It makes it possible for everybody to have a broad social science or liberal arts education that includes the humanities so that graduates grow up with the ability to think for themselves and articulate their points of view. 
However with respect I do disagree with the member in the chair. I rather suspect that new section 6(a)(ii) actually includes a typographical error. I would like to receive another explanation the next time a different “professor” is in the chair about why the humanities are not included in it. I sincerely believe that is an omission. If we read the provision we see that it states: “(a) to foster in the New Zealand community a culture that supports science technology and the humanities including (without limitation)—”. Subparagraph (i) includes the humanities but subparagraph (ii) states “the advancement of science and technology education:”. That almost assumes that the humanities require no educational preparation. In fact they do. Think about ethics and philosophy; there is a huge amount there that really does touch this particular function. I invite the Royal Society through the member to come back with another explanation or maybe members of the Education and Science Committee will have one. Of course as other members have already talked about the other functions of the Royal Society now include the humanities. 
Other members have talked about recognising excellence. Those who are functioning at the highest level in any discipline always look to see which courts they need to be part of so that their discipline is seen as standing alongside any other science and technology discipline. When we recognise excellence we actually recognise our high achievers and a function of the Royal Society is to recognise high achievers in the humanities alongside everybody else. This is not about a pecking order; that is now long gone. This addition might be the final piece of the jigsaw. It actually says that when we recognise excellence no one discipline plays second fiddle. The provision is there right at the beginning; new section 6(b) has that very very important function. 
I am talking about what the humanities will get out of being included in the Royal Society in the way that this bill includes them. The benefits are embedded in its functions and we can talk about them. In new section 6(c) the Royal Society will have a role in providing “infrastructure and other support for the professional needs and development of … humanities scholars:”. So there we are. That is an investment in the humanities of the future. The humanities will take any profession to new heights by building alongside the basic knowledge of that particular discipline something else that is not ordinarily available to particular scientists. Here we are providing an infrastructure to do that. To support the professional needs of those who are humanities scholars really is an investment. That investment is made in that particular way by the Royal Society and it is something that I am particularly pleased to see. 
Then there is that little question that needs to be asked of any profession or discipline that actually adds to the advancement of our society: how will it function and what are the rules that will guide it? Here the Royal Society is saying to the humanities that they also have ethical requirements to meet. A function of the Royal Society is to administer for members a code of professional standards and ethics. The humanities are now beholden to that code as well in addition to any code of their own they might have. A set of principles a code of professional standards is embedded in the functions of the Royal Society that the humanities will now have to meet. 
Hon Christopher Finlayson 
: A hopeless lightweight. 
Dr RAJEN PRASAD 
: I ask the member to take a call and explain to us his view about the inclusion of the humanities in the social sciences as a jurist and a lawyer. I am sure that that particular profession could learn a lot as well from the humanities—including an ability to stop think and add. I know that that member is very capable of doing that rather than taking cheap shots. 
Another cornerstone of the Royal Society is now available to the humanities and I am particularly pleased to see it. 
The other aspect of the role of the Royal Society is its contribution in bringing expertise together in some kind of composite way to be made available to our society for the advancement of our society. Therefore it is a day of celebration for me personally from my background to know that the humanities will stand alongside each of those other disciplines—the sciences technology etc. We know that they will have the space to make that kind of contribution. I am pleased that I have been able to take this call today to explain that fact from my and my students’ point of view. Thank you.