Sio Su'a William: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Sio Su'a William: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:673;Page:19847] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 I acknowledge at the outset that Grant Robertson the member in the chair explained the meaning of “fellow” because if a worker simply picked that term up and looked at it it would not necessarily make any sense. It could be that fellow this fellow that big fellow that skinny fellow and that black fellow. So in hearing what the member has now said I acknowledge the fact that it is a prestigious role and that we are looking at the cream of the crop. But I wonder why the definition of “fellow” was not included in the bill and whether that would not be an appropriate way of allowing people who are unfamiliar with the goings-on of a society like this to know what it really means. I would like the member to respond to that request if that is possible. 
The second thing is that I want to know from the member whether by extending the subjects to include the humanities he foresees that we will have an expanded membership of fellows. The member has said that there is a range of about 366 fellows so what are the projections he foresees now with the society’s expansion to include the humanities? 
The other thing I am now curious about is whether we have ever appointed Pacific fellows to the society. It is a known fact that we are not getting enough young Pacific people into the sciences so I wonder whether the member foresees that by including the humanities we will be able to acknowledge people who are doing research in those particular areas and acknowledge the distinction of the work they will be involved in. 
I acknowledge Maui Pomare whom Nanaia Mahuta mentioned earlier. Pacific communities know Maui Pomare and the area from which he hails in Taranaki. It was Maui Pomare who visited the Samoans who were imprisoned in Mt Eden by the Government of the day when the New Zealand administration was trying to quash the protest of Samoa mo Samoa the Mau movement for independence. It was Maui Pomare and another elder of that particular time whose name I cannot remember. I am pointing out to the member in the chair that there is a real need for including or at least identifying and acknowledging Pacific people as well who are showing distinction in their particular areas of research and I am hopeful that by including the humanities we will see a broader range of people being eligible. 
The other thing I want to ask the member is whether including the humanities—clause 9(2) omits “science or technology” and substitutes “science technology or the humanities”—includes research into languages. I want to point that out to Mr Chair because he is looking at me quite evilly. We are celebrating te reo Maori this week and we have a group of Pacific researchers and teachers who are protesting against the cuts by the Minister of Education to Pacific languages—cuts to the promotion of the five Pacific languages and cuts to the Tupu and  
Folauga 
 series. Would the humanities include those people who are researching and showing distinction in that area of Pacific languages? I think that is an important area for the future. 
I will also ask about clause 9(1) which omits “Academy Council”—