ACT concerned by university's travel funding guidelines

The ACT Party is criticising a policy giving academics who identify as Māori and Pasifika preference when applying for travel, as disadvantaging to those with the 'wrong' ancestry.

ACT obtained a copy of Auckland University of Technology's (AUT) guidelines for funding researcher travel which gives 30 percent more points for Māori researchers and 20 percent more for Pasifika.

The system for travel funding prioritises applications based on a number of criteria like distance, risk of travel and funding sources before an 'equity multiplier' is applied.

ACT Party Tertiary Education and Skills spokesperson Dr Parmjeet Parmar said allocating travel funding based on race was disrespectful to those who would otherwise get funding based on merit.

Parmar emailed about 500 AUT researchers, after requesting a copy of the points system from AUT last week, asking for their thoughts on the policy and for more information on it.

"On the face of it, this raises concerns about fairness in funding and equal opportunity for students and academics of different backgrounds... I have requested from the university a copy of this criteria. However, the university has not responded.

"As an academic based at AUT, would you be able to send me a copy of the international travel policy, or more specifically its funding criteria/points system?

"I would treat you as anonymous, that is to say I will not disclose the source of the information in any public comments, and I will redact any identifying information in any public release."

Parmar claimed many researchers were unaware of the points system.

In an email to researchers and staff, vice-chancellor professor Damon Salesa said he had spoken to Minister of Tertiary Education Penny Simmonds last week about the policy.

"In our conversation, and in a subsequent media interview, she noted that there was good rationale for the policy. She also affirmed the autonomy and independence of universities.

"We often prioritise groups to produce quitable outcomes and.or meet our strategic goals. In our case, the travel policy is designed - amongst other things - to promote sustainability, support emerging researchers, develop research impact and partnerships, and ensure we maximise benefits for the money we spend."

Parmar said government agencies have been directed to allocate public resources according to need and value, not race.

"However, as the tertiary education minister has pointed, universities are given autonomy under the Education Training Act 2020 to adopt their own policies. Of course, academics, politicians, and taxpayers can still - and should - debate and challenge funding decisions.

"ACT is deeply concerned that universities who fail to uphold equal opportunity for students and academics damage their own reputations and place divisive political ideology ahead of value for taxpayers," Parma said.

In a statement to RNZ, AUT said the policy reflected its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

"There is a critical shortage of Māori and Pacific academic staff in the university sector and our policy supports the need to address this.

"AUT proactively supports Māori achievement in tertiary education as part of our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Our approach to academic travel opportunities reflects this commitment," the statement read.

AUT said all staff have access to the policy and criteria through the university's intranet and the policy was also published on its website.