'Net Brain Drain A Gain'

By Roger Wilde

"The net brain drain is a gain." said the Minister of Finance, Mr. Muldoon, at Victoria University last week.

Mr. Muldoon said he had made "fairly provocative statements on University education, in the hope of projecting some thought on the subject by those whose job it is to do so."

He said that an article by Professor Sinclair on the brain drain showed a "lack of regard for accuracy".

Mr. Muldoon said Professor Sinclair's figures only included those occupational groups with a high proportion of graduates leaving for overseas.

Mr. Muldoon quoted groups such as botanists and agriculturists which were more specifically orientated to the demands of the New Zealand economy.

These groups had a much lower proportion of graduates going overseas

He refuted Professor Sinclair's claim that the graduates remaining were less able and said that simply to raise staff salaries to combat this would be quite insufficient.

Mr. Muldoon said there were other factors involved, possibly more important than the salary question.