Labour’s ‘Adapt and Thrive’ plan for climate resilience is unlikely to survive the new government’s priorities. But the country cannot avoid addressing its urgent infrastructural deficit.
New fossil studies tell us our ancient ancestors enjoyed a diet of soft, sweet fruits. This would have influenced where they lived and spread to – and even the evolution of colour vision.
Understanding how key dietary nutrients move around the world within traded food gives us a better picture of global population health – and how the wealth gap between countries affects it.
Decades of Treaty scholarship have failed to arrive at a consensus about its meaning and purpose. Dispensing with various mistaken interpretations would improve the chances of productive discussion.
Cultured meats, precision fermentation and other cutting-edge technologies are predicted to disrupt conventional agriculture. Despite the threat, New Zealand is well positioned to ride the wave.
If the government is serious about reducing the cost of smoking, it should stick with Labour’s smokefree legislation rather than freezing the price of smoked tobacco products.
Jack Vowles, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
If Māori did not explicitly cede sovereignty in 1840, neither did they fully retain it. If sovereignty is already being shared, where does Te Tiriti o Waitangi sit within our unwritten constitution?
The International Court of Justice stopped short of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. New Zealand now needs to refine its foreign policy to play a constructive role in what happens next.
Over 200 million tonnes of sediment are transported by rivers to the sea each year, the most widespread water contaminant in the country. Its devastating impact on marine life has to be reversed.
Pacific Island support for Israel in the United Nations goes beyond a shared Judeo-Christian belief system. It involves a fundamental emphasis on community based on connection and relationships.
Photogrammetry, a technique where 3D information is extracted from photographs, is reducing the guesswork in counting – and understanding – the world below the ocean surface.
ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill assumes Māori have been granted special privileges. But it can equally be argued the Treaty prevents the undemocratic concentration of power in the hands of a few.
With geopolitical tension and uncertainty rising, New Zealand’s ruling coalition faces urgent questions about defence spending, alliances and its independent foreign policy.
Representative democracy is under threat as females – particularly from minority groups – leave or choose not to enter politics. Many say the mental toll of online abuse has become overwhelming.
COVID was a ‘gendered pandemic’, with women carrying very different burdens to men. A three-year New Zealand research project aimed to overcome the urge to forget, and provide lessons for the future.
AI will not become sentient and decide to kill us all. But our own conscious or unconscious beliefs about AI can potentially increase the likelihood of any outcome, including catastrophic ones.
Rowan Light, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A national day for commemoration of the New Zealand Wars has struggled for attention and public engagement. So did Anzac Day once, and its survival can provide useful lessons.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University