Retorts

Brain Drain

I was most interested to read your article in the August issue, regarding the "Brain Drain". This is an issue which will be with us for some considerable time.

I believe that until that a career in science is seen as a viable option by the bright 7th formers who are selecting their future professions, there will be little change in the current situation.

Little attention has been paid, in my opinion, to one of the critical issues regarding a career in science. That is, in most countries, particularly so in New Zealand, there is only one main employer of significance, and that is the government.

I believe that in that situation there has to be a special relationship between the employer and employee. In New Zealand, this has been through the broad government approach to public servants, which was that there was a life-time career available. Although, for professional scientists, the salary was low, this and the opportunities of following an interesting line of research existed as compensation.

The current emphasis on contestability and accountability has removed many of those personal rewards, whilst still leaving or even worsening the "poor" salary position and, of course, there is now no guarantee of a life-time career. The situation can be best described as "interesting".

There will always be a number of students who elect a career in science, and some of these will, for various reasons, wish to stay in New Zealand. The critical question is, will there be enough of these people to satisfy the needs of our society?

D M Bibby, Wellington