Nearly half a million dollars of taxpayer money is to be spent writing a sexual history of Auckland which includes studying the role of hustlers and "the modern orgasm".

This and other taxpayer-funded grants have come under fire from critics of New Zealand's level of spending on research and development. Paul Hutchison, National Party spokesman for research, science and technology, described the grant for the sex study as "politically correct".
Dr Hutchison, a former gynaecologist, said he was trying to get his head around the meaning of "a modern orgasm".

Auckland University professor Barry Reay - the recipient of the $465,000 Marsden Fund grant over three years - would not elaborate on his study. "The debate has been at such a low level that I don't wish to comment," he said.

The Marsden Fund, which promotes excellence in research, is administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand under the auspices of the Research, Science and Technology Ministry.

Waikato Innovation Park chief executive Derek Fairweather questioned whether some of the projects given grants would "drive us forward economically". "I'd like to see more money targeted towards what we are famous for - the livestock and the food we derive from that."

Another grant was to Waikato University of $140,000 over two years to study the literary and cultural significance of the piano. Marsden Fund manager Don Smith said only about six per cent of the fund was spent on humanities projects. The fund was only a tiny part of the country's investment in research, he said.

Research, Science and Technology Minister Steve Maharey said Dr Hutchison's attack was bizarre, and the National MP clearly wanted to see the fund scrapped and leading researchers forced overseas. Mr Maharey said the Government's investment in research had increased 65 per cent since 1999.