Science Media Centre

Building new prisons won’t fix the problem with New Zealand’s justice system, instead, we need to focus on prevention and early intervention, according to a new report from the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor. The report comes while the government decides whether or not it will build a new 3000-bed prison in Waikeria, despite promising to reduce the […]

Brexit is a reality – Britain has voted to leave the European Union. With the shock waves beginning to be felt, our colleagues at the Australian and UK Science Media Centres collected the following expert commentary from scientists regarding the implications of the Brexit vote. From the AusSMC: Professor Les Field AM FAA is Secretary […]

A panel discussion at the inaugural Science Advice to Governments conference in Auckland, 28-29 August, 2014. Science advice in the context of opposing political / ideological positions Speakers: Chair: Ian Boyd (Defra, UK) Hubert Deluyker (EFSA, EC) Roger Pielke (US) Gordon McBean (Canada) Chris Tyler (UK) Ian Chubb (Australia) Session description: One of the most difficult situations […]

A panel discussion at the inaugural Science Advice to Governments conference in Auckland, 28-29 August, 2014. Science Advice in Situations of Crisis panel Speakers: Chair: Anne Glover – Chief Science Advisor to President, European Commission Yuko Harayama – Executive Member of Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, Cabinet Office of Japan Andreas Hensel – President, […]

Below is an excerpt from a Guardian article published ahead of the Science Advice to Governments summit which gets underway today in Auckland as part of World Science Week (read in full here) A rough guide to science advice As scientists and policymakers gather in Auckland for a global summit on scientific advice, what lessons […]

Clear your news diary for the last week of August, with an unprecedented number of high-level meetings taking place in Auckland that will attract visitors from all over the world. A number of events and public talks are taking place in Auckland this month under the banner of World Science Week New Zealand, supported by […]

How much money should New Zealand spend on science and who should get it? The Government has tackled this question in a new document, the draft National Statement on Science Investment, which was launched today. The draft Statement describes the goal of the Government’s science investment to support a system that meets New Zealand’s economic, […]

In an article in this week’s issue of Nature, titled ‘The art of science advice to government‘, Sir Peter Gluckman, New Zealand’s chief science adviser, offers his ten principles for building trust, influence, engagement and independence. An excerpt: In 2009, I was appointed as the first science adviser to the Prime Minister of New Zealand. […]

Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate and President of the UK Royal Society, gave a lecture in Auckland last week, highlighting pitfalls and opportunities for how scientific research is funded and undertaken. You can watch a video or listen to audio of of Sir Paul’s lecture, titled Making Science Work, here. Sir Paul, was in New […]

The question ‘Is science good for the economy?’ will be the focus of an NZ IceFest panel discussion this week. Ahead of the event one of the speakers, Prof Julia Lane, spoke with Radio NZ’s Kathryn Ryan on Nine to Noon. You can listen to the interview below. Dr Julia Lane is  Senior Managing Economist […]