Robertson Grant: Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill — Second Reading 
Robertson Grant: Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:663;Page:11264] 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 As the local member in whose electorate the Carter Observatory stands I am very proud to stand here tonight and support the Carter Observatory Act Repeal Bill. It was a nice occasion when we had the reopening launch and Dr Mapp gave a moving speech—or people moved fairly quickly towards the refreshments immediately afterwards—[ 
Interruption 
] It was a very very good speech; I should not be so ungracious to Dr Mapp. It was a very good speech. In fact he shared with us some of his astronomical background and even some astrological background as well so it was a very good speech. 
I first want to lay on the table the importance of the role of the Wellington City Council here. It has taken on the Carter Observatory and has committed itself in terms of both the funding that it has put in place to do the refurbishment and the long-term funding to support the observatory. It now has a key place in Wellington City tourism attractions. I know that my colleague Heather Roy is a strong supporter of Zealandia: The Karori Sanctuary Experience which has also had a refurbishment in recent times with the development of the visitor experience there. We also have the Otari-Wilton’s Bush near where I live in the suburb of Wilton and Te Papa and other tourist attractions that are really allowing Wellington to create a good tourist experience that is built around the natural advantages that we have. 
Most of the MPs in the House will have travelled on the cable car up towards the Carter Observatory. A great way for people to experience Wellington as a city is to get on the cable car reach the top and take a short walk to the Carter Observatory and see it in all its glory now. So I think it is a real testament to the Wellington City Council. It has shown a great degree of patience I might add having had this bill before the House for some time. The council has taken on its roles and responsibilities in the absence of having a legislative mandate for that so I think the House needs to congratulate the Wellington City Council on its work in that regard. 
It is important to note that the future of the Carter Observatory is now as an education and tourism destination. It is not the national research observatory any longer and other members in the House have discussed how that has come about. I still think there is a place for us to think about how we continue to fulfil research functions as they relate to astronomy and to the role of the observatory but clearly that is not the future for the Carter Observatory. The future for the Carter Observatory is in tourism. 
After Dr Mapp’s moving speech in the planetarium at the Carter Observatory we sat and stared at the stars. [ 
Interruption 
] The member should have been there; it was a beautiful experience. It was an occasion when one realises just how fantastic it would be for children to go there. I think a lot of us realise as Moana Mackey said before that astronomy is the gateway to science for an awful lot of people. As I sat there in the planetarium I reflected on what the future would be for a young person who came to the Carter Observatory found him or herself fascinated by science and wanted to get involved in research. Perhaps that person would look to the Government to see whether that was something that was important to the Government. 
Moana Mackey 
: Don’t do that. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: No they really should not do that. To start with one of the early actions that people at the Carter Observatory might have noticed from the Government was the cutting of support for science advisers in schools. They are the very people who help gather together the resources and support the teachers who might be taking their students to the Carter Observatory and their support was cut out by this Government. But of course that is small beer only in comparison with removing the research and development tax credits and taking away the Fast Forward fund. Although we did see some funding in the recent Budget on research and development and supporting science in effect it is nowhere near enough. It is half of what National promised in 2008 and it is half of what would have been there had we stuck with Labour’s Fast Forward fund and research and development tax credits. 
It is also important for people sitting in the observatory thinking about a career in science to realise that it is not just the Government that will be supporting science but also the private sector. We have not had a great record in New Zealand of private sector investment in research and development and in science but that is what the research and development tax credit was about. It was about encouraging private sector investment in science and giving some notion that the Government understood the importance of it. Even if it is not accepted for its own value there is the fact that Australia has it and therefore if Australia has it we are automatically at a disadvantage. We hear often from members on the other side of the House that we need to catch up to Australia and compare ourselves with Australia. Yet the Government has walked away from an area where Australia is saying that it thinks that private sector investment in research and development is important and that it will support it. 
So young people who visit the Carter Observatory and consider a career in science are getting all the wrong signals from this Government. They are not seeing the Government putting its own money into research and development. They are not seeing the Government supporting the private sector to put its money into research and development. I think that is a very sad thing because if we are going to increase our standard of living and if we are going to be a sustainable country as we go on into the 21st century we need to be investing in new technology and encouraging young people to follow science through and to see that science is in fact not just something that is interesting of itself and that looking into astronomy being at the Carter Observatory and looking at the stars is only a gateway. If we can encourage people to see a career in science if they can see that there is both money to be made and great satisfaction from the discoveries that one makes when one is interested in science we need the Government to support that. 
So I certainly support the bill. The Carter Observatory is playing a tourism role in Wellington City as I have mentioned and it is also continuing to play its education role. I pay tribute to the staff of the observatory who not only have managed to work through a period of great change and a period in which they had to suffer uncertainty about their future but also through that period have continued to produce good-quality resources for teachers and students to use. As Moana Mackey said they have played a role as a private training establishment. They are accredited by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. It is high-quality science and high-quality education and a fantastic tourism experience for anyone who is visiting Wellington. I encourage all MPs to make the most of their time in Wellington and visit attractions such as the Carter Observatory and Zealandia and ensure that they get what Wellington has to offer. 
Moana Mackey 
: And the Whakatane Observatory. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: And should they find themselves in Whakatane as Ms Mackey says yes they should visit the Whakatane Observatory.