David Lillis, John Raine, Peter Schwerdtfeger, Rex Ahdar, Cathy Downes: Open Letter to the Coalition Government

Restoring the Standing and Reputation of Science in New Zealand - Open Letter to the Coalition Government

The recent news that GeoNet has been merging science with the myth, mysticism and legend of Māori traditional knowledge in their 2024 Geohazard Information has provoked a scathing response from international commentator, Professor Jerry Coyne (University of Chicago). This follows close behind publicity around the public funding of research projects that involve mixing of traditional knowledge and modern science which invited the inference that New Zealand had given equivalence to traditional knowledge and modern science.

Henry Armstrong: The Capture Is Complete - The Politicisation Of New Zealand’s Universities

An old friend recently sent me a letter reflecting upon many years of university service.  I thought it so important that it is well worth sharing:      

AN OPEN LETTER TO NEW ZEALAND UNIVERSITIES

As a triple graduate, Professor, lecturer, researcher, PhD examiner  and programme director with over 37 years of university service, involving five of our eight universities and their relationships with government, media, public and private organisations, I believe I am in a position to comment on certain current issues and the future direction of our tertiary education sector.

Ron Smith: Scholarship and the 'end of days'

Over all of the last week, the airwaves and print media have been telling us that humanity faces an unprecedented challenge due to the increasing use of fossil-fuels.  The carbon dioxide produced by these carbon-containing materials is progressively accumulating in the atmosphere, where it causes the so-called ‘greenhouse effect’.  The inescapable consequence of this is destructive sea-level rise, an increasing incidence of weather calamities (hurricanes and floods), and particularly a rapid increase in average global temperatures.  

All this from the Secretary General of the United Nations, an internationally-celebrated railway engineer (Dr Pachauri), and numerous experts from home and abroad.  Interestingly, these experts did not include anybody who had any contrary opinion on the thesis as a whole, or on any particular claim.

The crucial question to ask about this most recent spate of claims about imminent climatic disaster is whether it is to be taken as an essentially scientific claim about how things are, or, rather, whether it simply reflects an essentially middle-class liberal unease, about the consequences of human civilisation on the global environment, which has coalesced into a political movement. 

Ron Smith: Sustainability and the role of the university

It appears from my local paper that, along with Unitech, the University of Waikato has formally committed itself to the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, which was part of the much-reported June, Rio + 20, process.  This is to be regretted.  The decision appears to have been taken without much consultation, or any reflection on what the implications might be for teaching and learning and for the role of the university in society.  It is more than a mere vacuous declaration of virtue.  It is yet another assault on the whole notion of the university as a centre for critical thought, and as a source of contestable advice on public issues.