Faafoi Kris: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Faafoi Kris: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:673;Page:19866] 
KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak on clause 11 of the Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill. Before I start because my colleague Moana Mackey has spoken on this issue I just point out that I do not have any conflict of interest here. I am not an ordinary member a professional member a companion or a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. But it is good to know that we have a professional member of the Royal Society on this side of the Chamber and to take up another point made by Moana Mackey I can tell the Committee that on a number of occasions it was very useful as a journalist to speak to members of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Sometimes when I was addressing very complex issues of a science nature and wanting to put them into plain English it was usually a member of the science community who was also a member—usually a pretty eminent member—of the Royal Society of New Zealand who helped me out as a journalist. 
I am sure that people at home are now tuning into this debate. They would have heard it about because of the great profile it has and I know that at 7.30 p.m.  
Close Up 
  
Campbell Live 
 and  
Shortland Street 
 finish so they will be tuning in. We are debating clause 11 “Honorary Members” which states: “Section 16(1) is amended by omitting ‘science or technology’ and substituting ‘science technology or the humanities’.” I just want to see whether we can get closer to the distinction between an honorary member and a companion which we debated in the previous clause. If I am correct—and I ask the member responsible for the bill about this—the difference is pretty much contained in clause 10(1)(a) which states that a companion has to have “shown outstanding leadership in science technology or the humanities;”. Paragraph (b) talks about “eminent or sustained contributions to the promotion” which is basically what is contained in clause 11. The member in the chair Grant Robertson is nodding so I think that is the level of differentiation between an honorary member and a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 
This is an exciting time for the Royal Society of New Zealand because as we have spoken about at length on other clauses the bill brings the humanities into the realm of the Royal Society of New Zealand. I think this will change the nature and the culture of the Royal Society because we will see a lot more people being given these honorary memberships and companionships of the society. Now that the humanities will come into that I am trying to think of who might become an honorary member or a companion. I am thinking of Pacific Island people of eminence who might be able to become members or companions of the Royal Society. One person who I think would be an excellent such example is Alfred Hunkin. I am getting a nod from the member in charge of the bill. For those people at home who do not know much about Alfred Hunkin he is the programme director in Samoan studies at Victoria University. [ 
Interruption 
] Did the member go to school with him? 
Dr Rajen Prasad 
: He’s an ex - school teacher. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: He was formerly a school teacher which is a noble trade. Over the years Alfred as a composer and musician has tried to use music to continue the culture of Samoa and to make sure that the language and stories of his homeland are continued. As someone who works in the Samoan studies department at Victoria University he would probably in terms of clause 11 and the details the council looks at when giving an honorary membership to people have offered eminent service. He is probably someone who could be given a break with his levies too. As we look to broaden the nature of the Royal Society of New Zealand and in particular as we look at honorary membership in clause 11 he is one person who I think would fill the bill in terms of being someone to whom we could extend the distinction of an honorary membership of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 
This is a very exciting time for the Royal Society of New Zealand to bring humanities into the fold.