Events

Join historian Barbara Brookes and Te Papa curators Katie Cooper and Matariki Williams as they explore the history of New Zealand women through objects and artworks from the museum’s extensive collection.

This engaging presentation will encourage us to see New Zealand’s history through a female lens: from the points of view of wives, daughters, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts.

Barbara Brookes is the author of award-winning History of New Zealand Women, published by Bridget Williams Books.

Katie Cooper is Curator History and Pacific Cultures.

Matariki Williams is Curator Mātauranga Māori.

More information.

More info: http://www.confer.nz/hortnz2018/

Aotearoa in 2030 is the theme of the six-lecture series, presented by local and international experts, which delves into the pressing social and environmental challenges the country faces. The Faculty of Science Sustainability Network has put together a weekly series which traverses topics from conservation to urban change. Speakers include an Earth system scientist who specialises in integrating indigenous knowledge and science, a Professor of Green Chemistry, a social anthropologist who specialises in water and indigenous rights, ecologists, conservation biologists, psychologists and philosophers, to name a few.

New Zealand Conservation in 2030: Predator free and thinking about the trees. Our native flora and fauna are a treasured part of the New Zealand environment and our national identity. By 2030 New Zealand will be nearly halfway to its 2050 goal of eradicating introduced mammalian predators. But already, the countryside and urban areas will be on their way to transformational changes. The first half of this talk will outline what the terrestrial animal ecosystems of New Zealand will look like after achieving the interim 2025 goals of Predator Free NZ, with birds and reptiles in abundances greater than seen in over a century on the mainland. The second half of the talk will consider conservation challenges other than invasive pests, such as habitat fragmentation and the effects of climate change, and the kinds of tools we have available to tackle these threats. We will discuss New Zealand’s flora and fauna in a 2030 where their threats are being successfully managed by an engaged population.

Senior Lecturer Cate Macinnis-Ng, Biological Sciences: Plant conservation in Aotearoa.
Cate is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. She is a plant ecophysiologist with an interest in climate change impacts on water and carbon cycles of forests. Her current research focus is drought and native forests. When she's not climbing trees, she enjoys baking brownies and spending time with her family.

Associate Professor James Russell, Biological Sciences/Statistics: Animal conservation in Aotearoa.
James is a conservation biologist at the University of Auckland. His work focuses on restoring island ecosystems from anthropogenic disturbances such as invasive species, habitat loss and climate change.

More information.

Dr Tom Parr | University of Essex
Some believe that we should tax automation in order to slow down the rate at which capital replaces labour. One argument for this conclusion appeals to the interests of those individuals who would otherwise be made redundant by technological change. In this paper, I argue against this view, maintaining that we can embrace (rapid) automation if we also insist upon using some of the additional surplus that it creates to compensate those employees and potentially employees whose livelihoods are destroyed by this process. In the course of defending this position, I reflect upon two questions: (1) how should the government compensate those who lose out as a result of automation? And, (2) how should the government raise the revenue necessary to finance the compensation? My contribution is important not only because it helps us to resolve a series of urgent policy disputes - disputes that have been discussed extensively by labour market economists and policymakers, but not at all by political philosophers - but also because my analysis sheds lights on a wider range of controversies in philosophy, politics, and economics. 

More information.

There is no denying that as New Zealand sits astride the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates our land is subject to tremendous natural forces. We may commonly experience this as a gentle but sometimes a severe shuddering of earthquakes. Yet with Aotearoa dotted with cones and calderas, Kiwis should also keep in mind that the Taupō Eruption was actually the world’s most violent volcanic eruption in the last 5000 years!

Colin Wilson has gathered many accolades for studying volcanoes, and in particular, those giant examples known as supervolcanoes. He likens his work to that of a crime scene investigator, where he travels the world piecing together the dual puzzle of why such cataclysmic explosions occur and why they are joined by much smaller eruptions. He aims to forecast volcanic phenomena with enough warning so that communities can respond. But although Colin is digging deep in the Earth’s crust to find the triggering mechanisms, volcanic systems are not letting their secrets go easily…

More information and register.

We are nearly 1/5th of our way into the 21st Century. How is Auckland Museum responding to the trends and changes in global and local environments? How are we preparing ourselves to address contemporary concerns, contemporary ways of learning, and the needs of our contemporary community? What is the appropriate balance of museum activities taking place onsite, vs offsite vs online?

Director of Collections and Research, David Reeves, will discuss how upcoming changes and programmes at Auckland Museum are responding to these important questions while also remaining grounded in long-term universal values of museums. 

More information.

This seminar will present the process and findings of a method of deliberative democracy called a ‘Citizens’ Jury’. It involves gathering a sample of people from the general population – in our case randomly chosen from the local electoral rolls. The jury was provided with background information, heard from and questioned a range of ‘expert witnesses’, and then deliberated with the aim of answering the question: Do you think the law in New Zealand should be changed to allow doctors to provide or administer a medicine to a person, at their voluntary and competent request, that will bring about their death, under certain circumstances? This study’s process and outcome add to the important debate currently before New Zealand’s public and politicians with the End of Life Choice Bill presently being investigated through the Justice Select Committee.

More information.

There is no denying that as New Zealand sits astride the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates our land is subject to tremendous natural forces. We may commonly experience this as a gentle but sometimes a severe shuddering of earthquakes. Yet with Aotearoa dotted with cones and calderas, Kiwis should also keep in mind that the Taupō Eruption was actually the world’s most violent volcanic eruption in the last 5000 years!

Colin Wilson has gathered many accolades for studying volcanoes, and in particular, those giant examples known as supervolcanoes. He likens his work to that of a crime scene investigator, where he travels the world piecing together the dual puzzle of why such cataclysmic explosions occur and why they are joined by much smaller eruptions. He aims to forecast volcanic phenomena with enough warning so that communities can respond. But although Colin is digging deep in the Earth’s crust to find the triggering mechanisms, volcanic systems are not letting their secrets go easily…

More information and register.

The Law Foundation's 2018 Distinguished Visiting Fellow will present a lecture, then a reception will follow.

As the Syrian catastrophe lurches into its eighth year, the international community watches recurrent egregious atrocities unfold before our collective eyes. Apart from lethal force deployed against ISIS targets in Syria, the international community has been precluded from undertaking any substantive action against the Assad Regime – except in response to allegations of the use of chemical weapons.

What is it about chemical weapons that has evoked such outrage and facilitated US-Russian co-operation against Assad? Is it a particularly visceral reaction to the use of chemicals to kill or the manner in which people die? Is it a long-standing taboo against the use of chemicals as weapons of war? Or is there some more cynical explanation that has nothing to do with humanitarian concerns?

More information and register.

This month Cafe Scientifique returns with a talk about the market, service, and research priorities for securing EV uptake in NZ. 

Rapid loss of energy-holding capacity in 30 kWh Nissan Leafs threatens to undermine the
confidence of prospective purchasers to switch to electric vehicles. 

This seminar reviews the latest evidence for battery degradation and how the Flip the Fleet research team managed the uncertainties when publicising the results. 

The advantages and constraints of citizen science are illustrated by this politically and financially fraught public announcement. 

The presenters, Henrik Moller and Donald Love, are members of Flip the Fleet, a citizen 
science coalition of EV owners that submit data to a communal database each month to
measure the constraints and benefits of electric vehicles in New Zealand conditions
( www.flipthefleet.org ).

The team co-authored and advised on a paper on their battery health findings published at:

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201803.0122/v1

What can a particle tell us about the nature of the universe? And what fundamental natural laws might be discovered next?

On 4 July 2012, two international experiments announced simultaneously the discovery of the particle known as the Higgs Boson. This was the culmination of a project that began 20 years earlier. Half a million people around the world watched the presentation streamed live. Why was it so important? Are there other particles, similarly important, waiting to be discovered?

More information

The ability to provide cultural information at sentencing has been part of our law since 1985, yet very few defendants have availed themselves of this opportunity. Why is this, and why has there been renewed interest and engagement with this provision in the past two years?

How is cultural information being provided to judges, and by whom? How have judges responded to the receipt of such information? In this short korero I will share my experience as an “independent cultural report writer” for Maori defendants since 2017 and some analysis of the challenges that inhibit its full potential as a response to Maori over-imprisonment.

More information.

There is no denying that as New Zealand sits astride the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates our land is subject to tremendous natural forces. We may commonly experience this as a gentle but sometimes a severe shuddering of earthquakes. Yet with Aotearoa dotted with cones and calderas, Kiwis should also keep in mind that the Taupō Eruption was actually the world’s most violent volcanic eruption in the last 5000 years!

Colin Wilson has gathered many accolades for studying volcanoes, and in particular, those giant examples known as supervolcanoes. He likens his work to that of a crime scene investigator, where he travels the world piecing together the dual puzzle of why such cataclysmic explosions occur and why they are joined by much smaller eruptions. He aims to forecast volcanic phenomena with enough warning so that communities can respond. But although Colin is digging deep in the Earth’s crust to find the triggering mechanisms, volcanic systems are not letting their secrets go easily…

More information and register.

Donna Provoost

Director - Strategy, Rights and Advice, Office of the Children's Commissioner

Donna is an economist with over twenty years of experience as a researcher, policy analyst and manager. Donna joined the Children’s Commissioner in March 2012. She leads work across a range of activities to support better outcomes for New Zealand children, including providing advice on children’s rights and child-centered policy, collecting and sharing the voice and views of children, making formal submissions and advocating for the best interests of children. Donna works closely with stakeholders including government, NGOs, academics and businesses.

Abstract:
We all want Aotearoa New Zealand to be a place where all children thrive. This presentation will consider how we are doing for our children and young people from a child’s lens. It will include looking at some of the big issues for children, and what we mean by a child-centred approach. Taking a more child-centred approach to policy, decision-making and practice could be a game-changer for achieving real and lasting change for children, their families and New Zealand society.

More information.

This month's Thirst for Knowledge:

Why we need to worry about an Alpine Fault earthquake! Dr Caroline Orchiston from the Centre of Sustainability, University of Otago, outlines a new initiative called Project AF8, a multi-agency approach to response and resilience planning for a magnitude 8 earthquake in the South Island.

More information.

There is no denying that as New Zealand sits astride the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates our land is subject to tremendous natural forces. We may commonly experience this as a gentle but sometimes a severe shuddering of earthquakes. Yet with Aotearoa dotted with cones and calderas, Kiwis should also keep in mind that the Taupō Eruption was actually the world’s most violent volcanic eruption in the last 5000 years!

Colin Wilson has gathered many accolades for studying volcanoes, and in particular, those giant examples known as supervolcanoes. He likens his work to that of a crime scene investigator, where he travels the world piecing together the dual puzzle of why such cataclysmic explosions occur and why they are joined by much smaller eruptions. He aims to forecast volcanic phenomena with enough warning so that communities can respond. But although Colin is digging deep in the Earth’s crust to find the triggering mechanisms, volcanic systems are not letting their secrets go easily…

More information and register.

In her inspirational lecture to mark her professorship, Louisa Allen will take the audience on a journey through the field of critical sexuality studies in education.

For philosopher, Sharon Todd (2017) ‘breathing life into education’ is a metaphor for intervening in suffocating discourses on education around performance and standardisation, that leave most of us gasping for air.

Within the field of sexuality education, these discourses concern the content of this subject, who should teach it, and whether it is effective in reducing ‘negative consequences’ of sexual activity.

In this lecture, Louisa Allen offers a journey through her empirical work, to traverse some of the key issues which perpetually occupy and challenge the field of critical sexuality studies in education.

Drawing on Todd, she imagines new ways of ‘breathing life into sexuality education’ by attending to issues such as homophobia and cultural and religious diversity, via Todd’s call for an education concerned with ‘attention and openness’.

More information.