Davis Kelvin: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Davis Kelvin: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:673;Page:19852] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 As Grant Robertson has already said under section 10 of the Act “The Academy Council may from time to time in accordance with the Academy bylaws elect as a fellow any person who in the opinion of the Academy Council has achieved distinction in research or the advancement of science or technology.” So it was quite a surprise to all of us that Paul Quinn believed he had a case to answer in order to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. I guess he was confused from his form 2 science test—you know magnets rocky shores and all that—when he got six out of 10. The teacher said “Well done Paul.” and I think he might have thought that it meant he had achieved some sort of distinction. As Grant Robertson said he has time before November to get his application in. I believe they may still accept applications in crayon so if he sharpens the point a bit and forms his letters properly he may be in. There is old Paul there and he is a good fulla I have to admit. But it is probably more the case that he is a good “fulla”. I think he thought this was about fullas not fellows so if he does not actually get in he might be able to form his own “Fullas Society”. 
It is interesting that in looking through the list of previous fellows and talking about Paul Quinn immediately my eye went straight to the 2007 recipient Professor Richard Faull who was recognised for his ground-breaking work in understanding the human brain. I immediately thought of Paul Quinn there. I think the difference between Richard Faull—who has studied the human brain and who has done some amazing work on the regeneration of the human brain—and Paul Quinn is that Paul Quinn thinks that the study of the brain is rolling his eyes to the back of his head and having a look but he suffers from claustrophobia. When we go through the list of fellows there we see some remarkable achievements by some remarkable people and Richard Faull is one of those people. As I said he has done some remarkable studies in the regeneration of the human brain and it is that sort of high-level achievement that sets these people apart from ordinary everyday scientists or researchers. They have made some huge advancements for people—for humanity. They need to be encouraged and recognised and we need to celebrate the successes they have had. Such are the people that Grant Robertson was talking about: Brian Robinson and his son with that gel that cures wounds. Is that it? 
Grant Robertson 
: Yep. 
KELVIN DAVIS 
: It is absolutely amazing stuff. That is why we really do need to invest in research and development. We should not be just relying on the work of the Royal Society of New Zealand to do amazing research and to develop amazing products but also continuing to invest in research and development in many areas because those are the sorts of products that will really progress New Zealand. An economist said that one entrepreneur—and I guess the people who can develop these products are very entrepreneurial—is worth a thousand farmers. If we have all these fellows who are generating this outstanding research and making these advancements for New Zealand and for the world they need to be encouraged not just through the Royal Society of New Zealand but also through investment in the research and development funds that I know this current Government has in fact cut. 
I agree entirely that there are not enough Maori or Pacific Islanders in the list. Certainly as I scan down the list between 1991 and 2009 I see there are no women. That to me is a crying shame because we know the contribution that women make to the sciences the humanities and technology. Women need to be recognised and encouraged as well for the outstanding work they do.