Guest Author • Jul 03, 2020 •
Nik Green Much of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity. Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the media and Parliament, with some arguing that the highly-restrictive … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 03, 2020 •
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz Do you think the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown will slow or possibly reverse the effects of climate change (due … Read More
Guest Author • May 12, 2020 •
Ron Crawford Lockdown hasn’t seemed too bad. I’m well set up to work from home, it’s been easy for me to take a walk on our nearby beach, and the weather has been mostly calm and sunny. Beach bubble – James Soligo I’ve noticed many families enjoying the opportunity to spend time together over the last few weeks – here … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 30, 2020 •
Jacqui Maguire, registered clinical psychologist Recently I was asked to predict how our nation would transition into level 3. My answer was that it’s never best to predict human behaviour when we don’t have an evidence-based blueprint. What I could guarantee is that we will not respond unanimously. As we begin this week at level 3, my educated guess … Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • Apr 28, 2020 •
We wake today at alert level three. We are here because of the incredible job everyone has done while we have been in lockdown at alert level four. No one doubts how hard this has been for so many people. For their mental and physical wellbeing. For their livelihoods. This global pandemic has turned our world upside down. To everyone … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 22, 2020 •
Associate Professor Leah Watkins and Associate Professor Rob Aitken Living in lockdown is a rare phenomenon, and one that provides a unique opportunity to examine our spending habits. NZ lifestyles under the microscope Researchers at the University of Otago have been conducting an ongoing research programme designed to provide insights into the lifestyles, consumption patterns and behavioural … Read More
Guest Author • Apr 21, 2020 •
Dougal Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Arindam Basu, University of Canterbury; Malcolm Campbell, University of Canterbury; Martin Berka, Massey University; Michael Baker, University of Otago, and Richard Shaw, Massey University New Zealand will begin easing its national lockdown from next Tuesday, but only after a five-day extension of some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 restrictions. Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • Apr 15, 2020 •
A group of six New Zealand academics yesterday announced their “vision for a balanced response” to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are calling that vision “Plan B”. They even have a website and a PR firm attached. They are clearly serious. Their plan is for New Zealand to return “to normality as soon … Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • Apr 01, 2020 •
For almost a week now, every one of us who isn’t an essential worker has been confined to their bubble. We are allowed to go shopping for groceries, to visit the doctor, and to get a bit of exercise if we stay local. The reason we are doing this is to stop the spread of Covid-19 and to save … Read More
Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 27, 2020 •
Just before midnight on Wednesday March 25, Aotearoa New Zealand entered a countrywide alert level four lockdown. For at least the next four weeks, everyone who isn’t an essential worker is confined to their bubble. We are doing this to stop the explosive growth in people contracting and dying from Covid-19 that so many other countries are experiencing. Over … Read More