Opening Speech at NZ-US Joint Commission for Science and Technology Meeting

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to speak at the opening of this US- New Zealand Joint Commission Meeting.

In particular, I wish to acknowledge and welcome Dr Arden Bement, the director of the US National Science Foundation and head of the US Delegation.

I also welcome Dr Steven Koonin, Under-Secretary for Science in the US Department of Energy, and Dr Nina Fedoroff, the Science and Technology Adviser to both the US Secretary of State and the Administrator of US AID.

I acknowledge and warmly welcome the new US Ambassador to New Zealand, Mr David Huebner. With so much happening in the six weeks of your term so far, we have high hopes for a long and productive relationship. I look forward to working with you in both my Science and Defence portfolios.

I am also honoured to be able to welcome to New Zealand and this Joint Commission meeting some of the United States's most eminent science diplomats and administrators. As I look into this audience and see so many prestigious scientists gathered for these discussions, I know the outcomes can only be positive for ongoing collaboration between our two countries.

With our shared commitment to furthering and expanding our joint efforts, the already close relationship between the US and New Zealand will continue to strengthen. That scientific relationship has been a long and productive one.  The US is, by far, our largest research partner, with 40% of New Zealand researchers having active links with American counterparts.

While our two countries have many diverse and significant science connections, an enduring cornerstone of our relationship has been, and continues to be, the Antarctic. The close proximity of Scott Base and McMurdo Station is reflected in our close co-operation. We have shared challenges and interests, and our shared successes on the ice are world-class. 

The recent opening of the Ross Island Wind Farm by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, underscores both of our countries' commitment to high-quality environmental management in fragile polar regions, and to renewable forms of energy.  The international ANDRILL project, seeking knowledge about Antarctica's role in climate change, has been a stunning scientific and logistical success.

But neither of our two nations is content to rest on past successes.  Science has become a powerful force in international diplomacy.  The scientific community, with its global connectedness and focus on global challenges, provides unique opportunities to broaden and strengthen relationships between nations. To paraphrase President Barack Obama, the US and New Zealand are "not so much separated by the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean, as connected by it".  And our science partnerships and collaborations tighten these connections.

As an island nation, New Zealand has a serious interest in hydrographic studies. New Zealand is an active participant in the United States's ARGO programme. Under this programme autonomous, free-floating, data collecting buoys have been deployed across the world's oceans.  There are now 550 more floats in our oceanic regions, thanks to New Zealand-United States co-operation.

New Zealand and the US, along with Iceland, are part of an ambitious project to develop affordable, efficient and renewable energy for developing nations. The Energy Development in Island Nations (or EDIN) partnership is less than 18 months old, but New Zealand scientists have already completed a pilot study looking for geothermal energy opportunities in numerous Pacific Islands countries.  A number of projects have been identified and will be implemented in the coming months.  This mirrors the work the US has undertaken in the Caribbean in the US Virgin Islands.

Of course the dominant issue in science diplomacy right now is the challenge posed to our world and our welfare by climate change. For some Pacific islands, the long-term consequences of sea-level rise will be very serious. Our long-standing commitment to partnering with our Pacific neighbours means we are always looking forward to working with like-minded countries.  Science is playing and will continue to play a key role in understanding climate change, its effects and how to cope with them.

Although a relatively small global contributor to research, New Zealand is determined that our research must make a difference. This is why we are building international partnerships to better understand and manage the contribution of greenhouse gases from agriculture.  The US is one of a number of key supporters of Prime Minister John Key's recently announced proposal for a Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

The importance we place on these international science links can be seen in the partnerships we also have with many other nations.  Australia, our closest neighbour and our second-largest science partner, shares our interests in the natural environment and agricultural productivity.   We have long-standing and productive relationships with Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, Germany and France.  This February New Zealand will officially open a major centre of research excellence in Tauranga as a joint programme between the University of Waikato and Germany's University of Bremen.  Alongside this we have a strengthening relationship in North Asia, from working with Japan on functional food to an established relationship with Korea in robotics, and a developing relationship with China in biotechnology.

In closing, I commend the workshops you have undertaken around the country. As our US visitors will have seen, we have world-class scientists and facilities, and a strong desire to share and grow. We also have a proud history of practical science and research. It is our pleasure and privilege to share our knowledge with you.

As Alan MacDiarmid once said: "If you have very good people working not for you but with you, then the chances of finding very important, critical, unexpected things are pretty high." With the calibre of the people seated in this room, and the opportunities for collaboration provided by these meetings, I hope some of those very important, critical, unexpected things will happen.   I expect this week to be a watershed event for US-New Zealand science relations.