And comparisons to the Jaws mayor would only be applicable if they'd had scientists consistently checking for sharks over several weeks, and had found none

I'm not entirely sure why people comparing this to the COVID response, where we followed the science, are upset that they Mayor appears to be following the science.

The National Infrastructure Plan, released today, sets out a vision for a more efficient, affordable future. But is infrastructure minister Chris Bishop willing to accept that he is part of the problem? thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-...

Rather than government commitment to an enquiry it would be nice to see some commitment to action Calls for investigation into Moa Point Treatment Plant failure www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Recommending that visitors have their passports on them at all times...I couldn't with good conscience recommend that my students attend AGU. What a sad, terrible situation

It's wild that the new zealand govt sees what's going on in the states and rather than going "wow we have a huge opportunity to recruit foreign talent, let's invest" (like aus, canada, EU etc have done) instead they're like "ooh cutting science to the bone, cool idea bro" #nzpol

They do say it's the queer capital of Aotearoa 🌈

Dealing with earthquake hazard and risk is a complex and nuanced problem, with no easy answers. For the most part, the scientific experts think the changes announced today are a positive step forward

Very happy to see El Mestel's work on seismicity at Taupō volcano published today in JGR: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/... El used a new seismic network to look at Taupō in more detail than anyone has done before

Geologists of bluesky, great opportunity at Otago Uni, NZ for a Lecturer in Earth Science! Special shout out to my #biomarker colleagues, the dept has a well set up, near new Org Geochem lab without a PI, with GCMS/FID and HPLC, if anyone wants a change of scene! ⚒🧪🥼🌊 otago.taleo.net/careersectio...

I think Andrew Little is getting an overly harsh reception from Welly people on here. I don't agree with everything he says, but his policies have evolved to basically be what any progressive Wellington urbanist would want, especially on housing and transport

Wellingtonians! Do you want to know more about the geological forces that have shaped our region, and what we should prepare for in the future? On 21st August I'll be talking at the Critical Signals public space on Taranaki Street, come along! Free registration: criticalsignals.nz/programme/ci...

Further cuts fund new tech institute – Expert Reaction www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2025/08/06/f... "The movement of funds from the Investigator-led Marsden Fund ... is absolutely an attack on fundamental research and on internationally-recognised research excellence" - @nicgaston.bsky.social

Thanks to the authority in NZ, we have English version of the picture! www.geonet.org.nz/news/7KdKuPl...

You lot are grumpy this morning! A reminder that even a small tsunami is not the same as a normal wave. They can still cause significant currents and rips and are very dangerous for anyone who was thinking of going into the ocean this morning.

Whops, the live stream: Hiroo, Japan www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBQH...

About to start a lecture as my students watch a livestream of the tsunami arriving in Japan, quite surreal

Big earthquake in Kamchatka as seen on my RaspberryShake in Island Bay

Fantastic food at Supra tonight, the octopus rice clay pot was a highlight, go check them out Welly!

Great talk by Anna Miller of @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social all about the absolute monster Whakamaru eruption #iavcei2025

European airports are a miserable experience, give me regional NZ anyday

A genuinely great move by Minister Bishop, hurrah! Now let's get those wrecking balls swinging

Now that's a fold!

“I have no doubt that if we were unlucky to experience a tsunami in our lifetime, a future Royal Commission of Inquiry will definitely find whoever defunded this monitoring centre as culpable.” -Ilan Noy newsroom.co.nz/2025/06/12/n...

My latest for @science.org on NZ's "shuffling of deck chairs" science and innovation budget, with @nzscientists.bsky.social et al and excellent editing by @mattbwarren.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

The Endeavour Fund, New Zealand's biggest contestable research fund, has just been abruptly closed for 2026. This comes after last minute changes to the Marsden process, and still no information on the fellowship scheme for this year. It's as if they are deliberately making it difficult to survive

Christopher Luxon is a weak leader of a lamentable right-wing government here in NZ, but even he said in April "Our migrant communities contribute so much to our country – I’m very proud they get to call New Zealand home", the contrast with what is meant to be a progressive UK government is stark

I know pay equity is rightly taking up all the airtime tonight but 3/6 of the newly announced members of the Science and Technology Council have backgrounds in dairy specifically? No disrespect to the individuals in question but that's just embarrassing for us as a country

Fantastic to see this work published. If you want to get your hands on 17 years of earthquake data from the TVZ, then check out the paper and head over to Zenodo: zenodo.org/records/1509...

It was great to talk to 1NewsNZ about the need for the return of scientific monitoring to Whakaari/White Island. Without monitoring equipment on the island we are unable to forecast or detect eruptions with speed or accuracy. Watch the story here: www.1news.co.nz/2024/02/05/w...

Yesterday I spoke to Newstalk ZB's Drive show about the Auckland Volcanic Field and scientist's estimate that there is a 10% chance of an eruption in the next 50 years. Listen to my interview here: www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heath...

It definitely does feel like there's a buzz back on campus. Great news for the university and city!

Rebecca Matthews is the most effective city councillor we’ve seen in a long time. It’s a shame the Labour Party doesn’t appear to want someone who has made the largest impact for working people in Wellington this century thespinoff.co.nz/politics/01-...

⚒️ 🧪 A catastrophic M7.7 earthquake struck Myanmar today, rupturing ~200 km of the strike-slip Sagaing Fault. The USGS PAGER alert is red, indicating severe damage and many fatalities. Impacts extend from Myanmar into neighboring countries, including Thailand. What do we know so far?

Another day another great piece of work from an excellent MSc student at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social, and this one is a little different. Kristian's work created a virtual reality environment to view volcano monitoring data in three-dimensions. Check out the Volcanica paper here: doi.org/10.30909/vol...

From 1900-1904, as a result of heat brought to the surface by the tragic 1886 eruption of Tarawera volcano in New Zealand, the Waimangu Geyser ("black water") was the largest geyser in the world, at over 400 meters tall. ...I just can't possibly imagine watching one of these eruptions.

Bit of a hectic day talking to people about this earthquake, this is an interesting part of the country that we know little about. My colleagues at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social are conducting research to better understand the tectonics of the Puysegur subduction zone www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/67-southl...

My little #Raspishake seismometer is about 18.400km (!) away from the M6.7 #earthquake in New Zealand this night (UTC). The seismic waves arrived here in Herne, Germany approximately 20 mins after origin time. 🧪 ⚒️

This morning @thepost-nz.bsky.social did a write up MSc student Bethany's recent work using RaspberryShake hobby seismometers for earthquake research. These little things are amazing and could really help us understand the natural hazards we face in New Zealand www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

Love to see this pushback from our locally elected representatives. Luxon is looking increasingly desperate

From Victoria University of Wellington – Analysis: In stipulating at least half of funded research projects must possess direct economic impacts, the Government is attacking the ability of academia to serve as the critic and conscience of society

This is a wonderful story from Te Ao with Moana. Not only the waka emerging from the Chatham Island sands – which may be the most import find in Polynesian archeology – but the people around it. Young Nikau is a bit of a star. Find 20 minutes to watch it today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cnt...

Tory Whanau is the first Wellington mayor in a generation to tackle head on the city’s twin crises of constrained housing supply and neglected water infrastructure and to do so by actually delivering a pro-housing district plan and a water investment programme capable of solving these problems. 1/

Vision for Wellington's first event drew a large crowd, but their ideas for the future if the city mostly involved going back to the past. thespinoff.co.nz/society/21-0...

Had an OIA on the Marsden decisions land. This appears to be the ground zero and the level of thinking Collins put into gutting humanities funding. I have found no actual *advice* or analysis on the removal of humanities panels and literally zero engagement with Royal Society or Universities.

Stoked to see our paper, led by MSc student Bethany Hughes, published in @weareseismica.bsky.social! It shows that we can use Raspberry Shake seismometers to improve earthquake characterisation in Wellington, sometimes quantity over quality can work! seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view...

The prime minister says New Zealand has a culture of saying no to growth. When it comes to housing, he's part of the problem. thespinoff.co.nz/politics/28-...

I think the merger of CRIs *could* be a positive move, although I feel for my CRI colleagues who are having to deal with yet more upheaval. I hope to see similar moves to reduce unproductive competition in the university sector when the UAG report is released