Scientists' association deplores Te Papa's axing of two experts

Monday, 18 February 2019

Mollusc scientist Bruce Marshall was one of two internationally renowned experts made redundant in Te Papa's controversial restructure.

New Zealand's Association of Scientists has joined the chorus of outrage about Te Papa's decision to axe two experts with nationally significant expertise.

Stuff understands two of the museum's collections care team managers are also walking away.

Association of Scientists president Heide Friedrich said the loss of knowledge held by axed fish expert Andrew Stewart and mollusc expert Bruce Marshall was 'short-sighted' and 'deplorable'.

Association of Scientists president Heide Friedrich says Te Papa's decision to axe two top scientists is short-sighted and deplorable.

The redundancies - which are part of Te Papa's controversial restructure - were expected to be confirmed last Thursday, but a final decision is now expected this week.

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Like many critics, Friedrich emphasised Stewart's and Marshall's experience in taxonomy - identifying, describing and naming New Zealand's flora and fauna, which underpins everything from identifying biosecurity pests to understanding relationships between different organisms. A Royal Society review in 2015 found taxonomists were an endangered species, and expertise took 10-15 years to build up.

Highly regarded fish collection manager Andrew Stewart has lost his job in Te Papa's controversial restructure.

Te Papa molluscs expert Bruce Marshall is so renowned in his field he has 23 species and 6 genera named after him, including the Bruceiella laevigata.

While Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Grant Robertson said staff decisions were an operational matter for Te Papa, Friedrich said the Government had a responsibility to ensure the country had enough vital taxonomic expertise.

'With dramatic changes in how we use and value our land and oceans and with a dramatically changing climate, the short-sightedness in not holding onto such capability and not building succession plans is questionable.'

Friedrich's concerns join a chorus of criticism from scientists in New Zealand and overseas, who feared Te Papa's restructure would compromise collection care and affect New Zealand's international reputation.

The shakeup also disestablished the jobs of conservation manager Gillian Andreae - who ran the collection conservation team - and the manager of the science and humanities collection team, Jenn Dalen. Restructure documents show those jobs were supposed to be merged and the new position filled by one of the two.

However, Stuff understands both managers have instead opted to leave. Staff feedback suggested the new team was too large for one boss and the manager would be 'spread too thin'.

Andreae had worked as a conservator and conservation manager for the museum and its predecessors for 34 years. Dalen started as a marine algae collection manager in 2002 and had managed the science and humanities collections since 2014.

Te Papa board chairman Evan Williams has said the changes were 'carefully considered' and would not reduce collections care or taxonomic research. 'Collections-based research is at the heart of what Te Papa does, and that will never change.'