A truly ambitious solution would keep jobs in Southland, delivering on the promise of the Zero Carbon Act to make NZ all but carbon neutral by 2050, writes Nicola Gaston in a post co-authored with Sally Brooker, Justin Hodgkiss and David Williams of The MacDiarmid Institute. Tiwai Point is in the news, again. Jeanette Fitzsimons, … Read more
But what I’m grappling with, writes Nicola Gaston, is how optimistic we can afford to be about human behaviour For more 2018 revelations from New Zealanders in science and technology go here It’s been a slow realisation; I think it may have been creeping up on me for a while. But somewhere in late 2018 … Read more
Following the Green co-leader’s admission about misleading WINZ, Nicola Gaston recalls her own upbringing on a benefit, and confesses to a fraud of her own. Metiria Turei’s recent announcement of Green Party policy on welfare in New Zealand has caught people’s attention, all right. But instead of focusing on the co-leader’s commitment to lift families … Read more
As the debate around the value of private tertiary education providers sharpens with Labour’s immigration policy release, a new bill proposes substantial changes to the wider sector. Nicola Gaston has some serious reservations. “Increase funding flexibility in the tertiary education system, strengthen the accountability, and monitoring of tertiary education organisations, and ensure consistent treatment of … Read more
Do we have our priorities right when it comes to the emphasis on economic ‘usefulness’ of education? In a companion piece to her article Why scientists need to go to the barricades against Trump – and for the humanities, Nicola Gaston asks if NZ is in danger of plunging into a culture war of its … Read more
Nicola Gaston on the anti-science agenda of the Trump presidency, and why scientists should embrace the arts. First they came for the scientists, but I was not a scientist, so I did not speak out. Scientists are often not comfortable with politics, with the idea of marching for a cause, with the idea of protest. … Read more
Believe it or not, it is possible that Helen Clark is both the best option for the job of Secretary General, and that she is an important candidate because she is female The first thing I heard on Tuesday morning: “Helen Clark is not running to be Secretary General of the UN because she is … Read more