"...New Zealand, a nation whose science is circling the drain"

"The deep-sixing of modern science in NZ is pretty much a done deal, as the Ardern government has decided that the initial treaty between the “Crown” (settlers) and the Māori—embodied in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi (known in Māori as “Te Tiriti”) should be interpreted as meaning that Māori should ultimately get not just equity (since they’re a minority of Kiwis), but extra equity: half of the money and half of the power....
    "This just won’t do, as times have moved on. Matauranga Māori ["a way of knowing"] rarely changes, and most of it cannot be falsified, while science steams its way forward. This is not to say that Māori shouldn’t have more power than they do already (I can’t speak to that), but that the government of New Zealand apparently is so ridden with guilt that it’s ready to hand over its science and its universities—not to mention its dosh—to Māori or to anybody who claims Māori descent....
    "While the University of Auckland touts how wonderful it is and how much of a world-class research institute it will be, it and the NZ government is simultaneously ensuring that the research quality and reputation of the entire country will go into the dumper. And it’s largely done out of guilt, for equity alone simply cannot justify these actions...."

~ evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne, from his post 'More from New Zealand, a nation whose science is circling the drain'