If this were a bunch of Pakeha farmers having to go back to court to relitigate an award of water rights because the government had changed allocation rules the media, business and legal establishments would be united in decrying it as the death of the rule of law.

Can think of few others as deserving as Siouxsie - who helped protect so many lives, & was NZ'er of the Year in 2021 - of our support now. She won legal case on truly awful online harassment/hate but remains 400k+ out of pocket. Absurd. Time to help her move forward www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7PB...

Brief: We’d like an op-ed criticising the capital gains tax, but try not to make it sound like you are landed gentry

Siouxsie took on an institution that failed to protect her and other academics from death threats, whilst doing fantastic #scicomm for the common good. She won against UOA. And is left with a house-size debt even after being awarded costs. Give a little back if you can 💚 🚨

Folks, people who appreciated Siouxsie's work during the pandemic and/or who like free speech and academic freedom should help out here if they can. And that's all of us, one way or another, right? www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...

Morning peeps! I’ve written a piece for @thespinoff.bsky.social on why I ended up taking legal action against my employer and a little bit about how it played out. The whole story needs a book to tell but this is a good start 😂 thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1... thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1...

The copies of #TheCovidResponse have all gone, but there are still plenty of other rewards available including ebooks like Nicola Gaston’s Why Science is Sexist and @siouxsiew.bsky.social’s Antibiotic Resistance. Get on it!

At a time when academics are under sustained right-wing attack, Dr Siouxsie Wiles stood up to the neoliberal regime of university management and won, but it came at a cost. If you can, please consider supporting Siouxsie, one of the most courageous scholars I know. www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...

Ka rawe koe @taramcallister.bsky.social, this is epic www.royalsociety.org.nz/what-we-do/f...

Delighted to be offering the first print of my B&W ode to Brian Brake Milford Sound print in @siouxsiew.bsky.social PledgeMe. www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...

As a reward for supporting @siouxsiew.bsky.social I've donated 6 signed copies of #TheCovidResponse. And if you want to know how important Siouxsie's case was for academic freedom in Aotearoa, I've written a piece for the NZSR on what I think it means: ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzsr/article...

Hey team - @siouxsiew.bsky.social's university spent > $1.5m defending a case that their lawyers largely conceded in court. This was a huge waste of public $$$, but despite Siouxsie's win, she remains out of pocket. Please support Siouxsie after she supported us: www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...

This is really cool, so many rewards and so much variety For an awesome person/cause #NZpol 🇳🇿

Get in!!! You might even spot a couple of things I’ve pledged!! 😜🙌

If you have spare $$$ please send a koha to the most principled academic I know

Dr Wiles is a tremendous supporter of human rights. She has been very supportive of my work. Please help her with her fundraiser!

One of the bravest, most steadfast and also smartest people I know. Pledge if you can, and share 🙏

@siouxsiew.bsky.social has our whanau’s heartfelt thanks for helping to keep us alive, healthy, and informed. It should not have cost her so much to do so. Please help with her legal costs if you can.

Siouxsie is the absolute GOAT & it's our turn to step up & support her & help to relieve some of the financial burden she has faced. We love you Siouxsie!

Signed books by me! 🥳 ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Exciting day today. Not only is it Halloween, but my crowdfunding campaign is also live! Please support me by making a pledge and/or sharing on all your socials and with your friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks to everyone offering rewards. You rock! www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...

New Zealand has moved from an underfunded, decentralised research system to an even less well funded, more centralised research system. Unfortunately, as @mehr.nz says, it's far from clear the centre knows what it is doing.

In Wellington the weather takes you with it

Have just finished reading The Covid Response by @hendysh.bsky.social. Moving, compelling, and yet worrying - the latter because it’s hard to see evidence we are learning lessons or making preparations.

It’s happening people! I’m finally in a position to start crowdfunding to recover some of the costs of taking legal action against my employer. Watch this space :)

A knowledge economy needs investment if we are all to benefit. #NZ is heading backwards.

I put some time into reading the SSAG reports today and what really worries me is that they suggest a huge change but with no real value proposition - so there will be no new money. Unless someone at MBIE has the chops for this, the reforms will really just be a lick of paint that masks the rot.

One of the things that was special about the Marsden Fund is that the decision-making process was tweaked over the years rather than reinvented over and over again like other funds. That allowed for decades of learning that I hope will not be lost in this latest restructure.

"The trouble with the government’s idea for a simple, more efficient science fund is that it’s trying to be a Ferrari on tin can funding." - @cillaw.bsky.social via @smcnz.bsky.social → www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/10/14/b... 🧪

This is heartbreaking 💔

What are the ‘social dimensions’ of moving species for conservation and why does engaging with them matter? This is the focus of our new paper doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... published in @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social olevo.bsky.social led by ever talented @aisrayne.bsky.social 📷 Kevin Parker

🚨Deadline extended 🚨 Get your abstracts in for the Capital City Complex Systems Symposium 2026 by Tuesday 7 October → forms.gle/vdMooRs2srtz... #cccss26 #complexsystems 🧪

Of course the Listener Letter made it into Krauss’ “The War on Science” (boo), but this means it gets the @shaunvids.bsky.social treatment (yay). TL;DR we need the humanities to teach scientists how to read

What America's changes on #paracetamol and #vaccines might mean for New Zealand www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

A time series for London, but a similar pattern everywhere. Measles vaccine in UK: 1968. MMR in UK: 1988. You can see the impact of each, because MMR boosts uptake enormously. Most of the lives saved by MMR are from measles. Reversing this will - predictably - kill a large number of children.

The Herald may have cut its science reporter, but thank god the speed bump beat is still fully staffed

Registrations are now also open for the #netscix2026 conference. Early bird registration available until Nov 20th. netscix2026.github.io#register

Are there any chalkboards still in use at UoA?

I've written more about #vaccines - here's an article which looks at the traditional approaches to making live and inactivate vaccines, then protein subunit vaccines, then what makes #mRNA such an important development. #sciart, although my rabbits need practice...

✨ Nicholson Consulting’s 2025/26 Summer Internship is now open for applications! ✨ 🧵

MPs at the Climate Change and Business Conference sat on a panel titled "Beyond Adaptation: Can we secure a cross-party approach?" The answer, after a watch-through-your-fingers car wreck of a discussion, was a resounding no. newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/10/e...

Part of the challenge is that mRNA vaccines can sound scary - it's understandable if people are concerned. So I'm writing a series about them, starting with an explanation of what viruses do inside our cells, and how our immune system fights back. theturnstone.substack.com/p/hostile-ta...

In my work I often use women MPs as a lens to discuss the impact of online violence on democracy and human rights. I also note that's it's not only women, but keenly felt by gender minorities and rainbow folk. From April: theconversation.com/a-damning-st... #nzpol

Thanks to @bwbnz.bsky.social @tepunahamatatini.bsky.social and @royalsocietynz.bsky.social for making #TheCovidResponse book tour possible. And thanks to the Canterbury crowd at Scorpio for a lively and engaging Q&A!

Was the privilege of a lifetime to work with these folks. They each did amazing things under huge pressure day-in-day-out for more than two years.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, a group of scientists and researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand dropped everything they were doing and rolled up their sleeves to help the response. This response ultimately saved around 20,000 lives 🧪 🧵

Brian Castellani mapped how disciplines, concepts and people have weaved together over time to create our understanding of complex systems. He'll be joining us as a keynote speaker for the Capital City Complex Systems Symposium 2026 → www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/symposium/ #cccss26 #complexsystems

The Covid inquiry reboot is inspiring all sorts of revisionism on LinkedIn, including this little gem from Covid Plan B stalwart Ananish Chaudhuri “By October 2020, we knew that the vaccines did not prevent transmission”. This is not true, but how did he even come up with this? Thread. 1/N

See you at Scorpio Books in Ōtautahi for #TheCovidResponse this Thursday. Really looking forward to this!

Great event in Auckland this week for Shaun Hendy’s 'The Covid Response'! Thanks to Siouxsie Wiles, Toby Manhire, Te Pūnaha Matatini, Royal Society, Time Out and all who came. 📘 Out now: www.bwb.co.nz/books/the-covi... 📸 Dave Coles #BWBTalks