9 May 1986 1986 Graduation Ceremony - Degree speech by Professor Bruce Ross, 9 May 1986

There is no doubt that we live in challenging times and that our responses to the challenges that confront us, can affect our national well-being for years to come.

As we look at the environment in which New Zealand is currently placed, we see that there are rapid changes occurring in the world economy, not least in the agricultural economy, and the rate of technological advance is as rapid as it has ever been. All this means that in any nation which hopes to thrive, the need for good university graduates is greater than ever.

On the economic front the round of trade negotiations expected to start later this year, under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, may start the process of reducing agricultural protectionism, and if this is the outcome it will have obvious economic benefits for New Zealand. Whatever the outcome of the GATT negotiations, however, there is a desperate need in New Zealand to speed up the development and application of new technology. This applies in all sectors of the New Zealand economy, but the consequences of failure to keep up with our competitors have become particularly clear in the agricultural sector in recent years. The meat industry provides a good example of an activity in which New Zealand has prided itself in the past for having a comparative advantage, but the last 15 or 20 years have seen a very substantial loss of market share within the meat trade, and within the last 10 years, a crippling loss of profitability of production. Consumption of the so called white meats, pork and poultry, has expanded rapidly in our major markets at the expense of red meats, beef and sheep meat .. This switch in consumption patttern is popularly attributed to the supposed link between the consumption of red meats and collestoral levels in the bloodstream. A more prosaic, and, I suggest, accurate explanation is to be found, however, in the fact that white meats have become much cheaper in relation to the red meats than they were 20 years ago. For example, in the United States, chicken, which used to average about 80 percent of the price of beef, now averages 30 percent. If it were the supposed health benefits of poultry which had produced the increased consumption, the price of poultry would have risen relative to that of beef,
instead of which it has fallen substantially. The reason for this fall in the relative price is to be found in technology, which has drastically reduced the quantity of grain required to produce each kilogram of poultry meat, at the same time as the labour input per kilogram of meat has also been reduced. Advances in the production of poultry meat have been much greater and faster than the advances in meats, and it is therefore meats profitably at prices the production of the red
possible to produce the white which are lower and lower relative to the prices of redmeats. In order to meet New Zealand has to develop such challenges to our products, and adopt the best technology at every stage of the production process through to the retail store. Failure to keep up in the technology race means that living standards in New Zealand must continue to fall relative to the rest of the developed world, in the way that they have done over the last quarter century.
The development and adoption of new technology is not an easy business, and calls for the combined talents of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, marketers, and financiers. I believe that Lincoln College produces graduates who are particularly well qualified to contribute to the success of technological advance. In addition to their major disciplines, our science graduates mostly have some knowledge and understanding of economics and management, whilst our commerce graduates have some understanding of basic science. This interdisciplinary understanding is a great advantage to all concerned, giving the scientist a better understanding of what is required to express results in a form which is of most use to economists or businessmen, and gives the business manager greater insight into how scientific advances can be incorporated into his business.
Those of you who are graduating today are fortunate to have had the advantage of being able to study at such an institution as Lincoln College. On the other hand, society is fortunate in that you have chosen to forego some years of
potential income in order to qualify yourselves in ways which will be useful to your country. The universities in New Zealand appear to have come under seige somewhat in recent months, with statements from high places suggesting
that government expenditure on universities represents a subsidy for the well-to-do in society, and that universities
receive more than their share of the education budget. It is true that some groups in our society are underrepresented
among the students at New Zealand universities, but cutting back on university funding is no way to solve that problem. All New Zealand universities are stretched for resources and could make an even greater contribution to New Zealand society if more resources were provided . The solution to our existing problems is more likely to be found in expanding our universities than in contracting them. Lincoln College graduates, for example, are in great demand, and we have trouble each year producing as many graduates as the market seems to require. On the other hand, the arrival of the number of students we would need to meet the demand would provide us with problems, were they not adequately
funded. Schemes designed to ensure that those groups now under-represented in our universities are in future fully
represented, without affecting enrolments from our traditional sources of students, will be the way to solve several problems simultaneously. That is, the need for more graduates to give our society the vibrancy and life it needs, whilst at the same time promoting true equality between the various groups in our society.

By the standards of most developed countries, New Zealand trains only a small proportion of its population at university level, and this is especially so if we compare ourselves with the really successful nations such as Japan or the United States. On the other hand New Zealand gets a very good deal from the universities it has, with the costs per student being low by international standards, but with high quality graduates being produced. The universities have not yet suffered a cut in the real level of their funding, but cuts in the spending of many government departments are likely to lead to reductions in the number of size of research contracts which they let with the universities. This will have serious implications for research at the universities, particularly that undertaken by post-graduate students, many of whom have their research on problems of national importance, financed by contracts from government departments.

We welcome this week's announcement by the Government that funds are to be provided for the reconstruction of Ivey Hall, with a modern library being provided for the College behind the facade of the old building, as a sign that the Government is still committed to the further development of New Zealand universities. This development is welcome, but it is not of itself enough to allow us to make the contribution of which we are capable to the national well-being.
I congratulate those of you who are graduating today on the success which you have achieved to date. I hope that you have learnt enough to know that you still have a lot to learn, and that you will go on learning throughout your
careers which you find rewarding and satisfying.