The tiresome title of Professor Emeritus

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 9th, 2010 - 28 comments
Categories: climate change, science - Tags: , ,

Carrying on from r0bs post about dissecting the bloated ego of the Looney Lord, I thought I should share my thoughts on the role of retired professors with similar meaningless titles.

There has been a series of posts at Hot-topic and other sites looking at the actions and background of climate change skeptical scientists. As someone who has trained in earth sciences I find it hard to see why anyone would give them much credibility in the face of the mounting evidence of quite fundamental changes in the atmospheric heat balance. However it appears many people prefer comforting noises rather than facing the consequences of not changing polluting behaviors. But what is fascinating generally is that many are retired professors far from the cut and thrust of the peer reviewing of their work that is a major and critical part of the scientific process. Many people seem to imbue a larger mantle of authority over a title than its meaningless value deserves.

Bryan Walker has been reviewing a book called “Merchants of Doubt” about four scientists who have been ranging far out of their areas of expertise to offer opinions over many decades.

Three of the physicists were Fred Seitz, William Nierenberg and Robert Jastrow. The fourth, Fred Singer, is still living.

The issues in which the men, jointly or severally, played a part cover a wide range.  A surprising range at first sight.  What have tobacco smoking, the strategic defence initiative, acid rain, ozone depletion, second-hand smoking and climate change got in common? They were not areas of professional expertise for the four scientists. Oreskes and Conway point to the fact that they all involved the possibility of government regulation of market activities in the interests of the environment. Regulation was the road to socialism. All four men were stout defenders of free market capitalism and strident anti-communists. Nierenberg and Seitz hated environmentalists, viewing them as Luddites.

In other words, bugger the evidence or the science. In the opinion of these people the politics is more ‘important’. It evidentially works from the way that the media report their opinions. But there are always the simple and credulous without an understanding of the processes of science prefer to believe in titles rather than reviewing the available science. It makes for a good story for the journos who generally don’t have much background in science, but can spot a human interest story from miles away. Especially when it is being promoted by spinsters pushing for the interests of their major corporates clients.

Part of the interest of the book is its reflections on the nature of science. Science doesn’t provide certainty or proof. What it does provide is the consensus of experts, based on the organised accumulation and scrutiny of evidence. Thus the geological theory of plate tectonics, for example, has emerged as accepted scientific knowledge. Modern science is a collective enterprise. What counts as knowledge are the ideas that come to be accepted by the fellowship of experts, the jury of one’s scientific peers.  If a claim is rejected the honest scientist moves on to other things. When Robert Jastrow and his colleagues first took their claims to the halls of public opinion rather than to the halls of science, they were stepping outside the institutional protocols that for four hundred years have tested the veracity of scientific claims. Many of the claims of the climate science contrarians had already been vetted in the halls of science and had failed to pass the test of peer review. Many were never even submitted for vetting.

This has been particularly evident in some of the comments written in this site. The name and title of Fred Singer in particular keeps being used like a talisman by the climate change deniers and skeptics here. They appear to think that the the phrase of “Professor Emeritus” means something more than it is. My definition of it is roughly:-

Professor Emeritus : Old specialist who is no longer doing much real work in their field, and will frequently comment on areas outside of their areas of expertise. Often entertaining, but frequently fossilized in their thinking.

Emeritus status is a bit of a mixed sword in most areas in its recipients.

It is sometimes useful because many of its recipients do develop a habit of thinking outside of their previous specialized box. They can help in cross-fertilize across areas of specialization. They often have a strong role in mentoring younger talent by providing the required support, especially in refining ideas. They frequently lecture in other universities worldwide cross-fertilizing the academic community, which is usually where I’ve observed them.

However often the real reason is that the status is awarded as a near-bribe to get old farts with tenure out of a department so people with new ideas and approaches can start doing some real work. Work that isn’t being constrained by the dead weight of someone locked into ideological positions developed many decades earlier.

Fred Singer appears to be one of the latter. His work in the 50’s and 60’s on using earth looking satellites is exemplary. However in his later years, he appears to have become increasingly associated with defending corporations in declining industries, and a lot less interested in current science.

Another good example of the scientific fossilization has been recently offered in a presentation offered at the Heartland Institute – which appears to largely be a spinster creation for the hydrocarbon industry. Don Easterbrook, Emeritus Professor of Geology, has for a long time been looking at the well known long-term cyclic effects that would indicate that the world would be tending to go into a cooling phase at present. At least they would if humans weren’t around screwing up the heat retention of the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

However in his presentation to the faithful at the Heartland conference, he appears to have clipped the last hundred years of contrary temperature data from his charts so he could show a 1905 ‘baseline’ temperature. Of course, this rather ignores the geologically rapid increases in temperature that have been happening both regionally (especially in the polar regions) and globally during the last century. These are not been explainable during the last century using the effects he was commenting on. They get in the way of an otherwise good theory. The temperature rises have been all the more remarkable because they are on top of the probable overall cooling effect he was examining.

There are a series of posts at Hot-topic looking at the detail of Don Easterbrook’s presentation where both the posts and comments have been enlightening (and entertaining) – 1, 2, 3, and 4. If he was arguing that the world would (without human interventions) have been naturally dipping towards another glacial period over the long-term, then his data and conclusions would have been valid. His presentation may have won him applause from an audience already invested in that conclusion. But is unlikely to carry much weight with anyone who has looked at the worrying temperature trends over the last century that were removed from his presentation.

Why am I pointing out these two (out of many) examples of Emeritus Professor? Well it is because examples like these and the constant use of retired lecturers as being authorities are steadily making me think that the status is past its use-by-date.

I’ve been moderating comments on this site for a number of years now. I’m tired of reading eulogies by people commenting with hushed tones of awe about the statements of some awesome Emeritus Professors – it is merely a title indicating their largely retired role in the academic community. It is as ridiculous to throw a false mantle of authority over them as the clowns who seem to have the same awe of the rather spurious hereditary authority of Chris Monckton. They never seem to consider exactly what titles mean – which is sweet bugger all.

In the case of any person of science, your current reputation and the authority of your opinions depends on your recent contributions to science. Those contributions are not made by prancing around on a stage at the pleasure of spinsters or offering consultancies to corporations with declining markets and telling them what they want to hear. Those are the roles that we assign to motivational speakers to harangue sales staff, or to people paid to boost the egos and confidence of tired managers. That roles doesn’t sit well on people of science.

28 comments on “The tiresome title of Professor Emeritus ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Bored 1
    9 June 2010 at 9:09 am

    All a bit of a laugh to be had from the honours and ranking system of the halls of academia. Emeritus is now more like being a senior partner in a consultancy company really (like the parasitic EYs of this world). Lets face it the university system is now a fully fledged industry at all levels, a money making concern. Which means an Emeritus man is in somebodies back pocket. All a very sad commentary on how the commercial imperative has been allowed to bastardise what should be one of our most revered and esteemed institutions.

    Capcha “passes” aka something you pay for the privelege of sitting for, with the bar set proportionately low so that the fear of costly failure does not put off the next hopeful enrolees.

    • just saying 1.1
      9 June 2010 at 9:51 am

      Gotta mention that there are some notable exceptions like the Alliance’s Jim Flynn.
      Last I heard he was still working out of a broom closet in the politics department at otago, but since he went emeritus he has continued to do world-class research in his two fields – politics and psychology.

      Seventy-something I think.

      • lprent 1.1.1
        9 June 2010 at 12:37 pm

        Yeah, you have to look closely at what people are doing in the position (and some are indeed awesome). But the title demands a degree of skepticism, as I hope I’ve shown with the two examples above.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2
        9 June 2010 at 2:20 pm

        ~77 now (IIRC, he was 73 when I took one of his classes in ’06) and, yes, his office is a broom closet.

  2. Richard 2
    9 June 2010 at 9:31 am

    Yes, exactly. “Emeritus Professor” means “retired”.

    It means that we (the university who used to employ you) no longer employ you, but we might let you still use an office, and we’ll print you some business cards. In return, we would still like to use your name for some assorted “elder-statesman of academia” purposes (opening buildings, chairing administrative committees, making up the numbers on examination boards, etc). We will probably give you some funding to potter about on whatever (cheap) project takes your fancy — pontificating on the “philosophy” of your discipline would be a good area to work in. But we think that you are too senile to do any actual work, which is saying something, as many of our working professors are quite senile. If you are not too senile, we might get you to help work on university “strategy”.

  3. PK 3
    9 June 2010 at 9:46 am

    ***I’m tired of reading eulogies by people commenting with hushed tones of awe about the statements of some awesome Emeritus Professors it is merely a title indicating their largely retired role in the academic community.***

    Whether they call themselves emeritus professors, or retired professors, people will still look for arguments that support their views. And in anycase, the evidence & logic they use should be the focus, not their title.

    • lprent 3.1
      9 June 2010 at 12:34 pm

      Exactly my point. The source, rationale, evidence, AND peer-criticism are all important.

      Of course what happens here is that I get an interesting sounding link by a CCD on earth sciences, pop through, read the article, track back to the original paper, find out it is not peer reviewed, lookup the writer, and find out that they’re retired and have a background in chemistry and have never published a peer-reviewed paper in earth sciences.

      It just pisses me off, and the CCD usually starts complaining when I call them a moronic scientifically illiterate idiot.

      This post was mostly written so I can link to it in comments to explain why I think that they are such a dipshit.

  4. Anita 4
    9 June 2010 at 9:49 am

    I think your complaint is actually about the media paying too much over-awed attention to academics (semi-retired or otherwise) who are speaking on issues outside their area of expertise.

    There are plenty of awesome emeritus professors who continue doing great work in their own fields; supervising, participating in research teams, publishings and even providing useful public commentary.

    The fact the media can’t tell the difference between a well-respected leading thinker in a particular niche and a person with an opinion and a title is a criticism of the media, not of emeritus professors.

    The same criticisms could be levelled at the media’s attitude toward Family First and the Sensible Sentencing Trust. In both cases they’re effectively one person lobby machines which get treated with far too much reverence.

    • lprent 4.1
      9 June 2010 at 12:25 pm

      I’d agree. I’ve net some pretty awesome emeritus profs (and for that matter other retired/semi-retired lecturers/researchers). I’ve also met a few that were (to put it politely) were fools running around with some pretty weird ideas and a complete lack of evidence.

      But who I was getting at was mostly the credulous fools that I see here and in the media who seem to see the title and don’t bother looking at the background.

      If someone is a working scientist (for instance), they take risks in coming up with unsubstantiated assertions. EP’s don’t have such restrictions on them. It means that they need to have their ideas treated with a lot more skepticism. It simply depends on the person.

    • Richard 4.2
      9 June 2010 at 12:45 pm

      Absolutely, there are plenty of emeritus professors doing quality work *in their field*. The point is that an emeritus professor outside their field really offers no more than a “clever, but uninformed opinion.

  5. Eric Crampton 5
    9 June 2010 at 10:07 am

    Retired is necessary but not sufficient for emeritus status; there is a minimum quality threshold. I don’t think we have a single Emeritus in our economics department currently, though many have retired. The title isn’t exactly given out like candy.

    Otherwise, Anita’s got it right.

    • Anita 5.1
      9 June 2010 at 10:16 am

      I’ve always thought of emeritus professors as semi-retired FWIW, there are expectations of continued participation on emeritus professors, so they’re still active within the university and/or research community on an unpaid basis.

  6. Carol 6
    9 June 2010 at 10:17 am

    There’s an interesting Prof Em talking on Nat Radio right now:

    “Professor Robert Ayres – How energy efficiency can fuel economic growth

    Professor Emeritus of the European Institute of Business Administration who says economists are missing out on a major growth driver for the economy.

    Robert Ayres is the author of several books, including The Next Industrial Revolution, and the 13 Percent Economy, which argues that the giant US economy functions on only 13 percent efficiency in terms of energy use – meaning 87 percent is wasted.”

    He may be onto something, or he maybe just providing a way for neoliberal capitalism to go on providing business as usual, without really tackling the real problems of climate change.

    • Lanthanide 6.1
      9 June 2010 at 6:13 pm

      “without really tackling the real problems of climate change.”

      On the contrary, it means there is great opportunity for the economy to keep growing in the face of shrinking energy input, either from a climate-change impetus, or peak oil (or most likely, both).

  7. pointer 7
    9 June 2010 at 12:08 pm

    Great podcast of Naomi Oreskes interviewed by Chris Mooney:
    http://www.pointofinquiry.org/naomi_oreskes_merchants_of_doubt/
    It’s long — about 40 min — but well worth listening to for the history of how climate change denialists started to manufacture doubt.

  8. uke 8
    9 June 2010 at 12:44 pm

    You could level all the same accusations of being captured by special interests at “serving” professors, not just the retired ones.

    An argument has been made, most prominently by the science historian David Noble, that the current academic peer review system is a scam and system of censorship that benefits corporatised US universities, academic publishers, and commercial research interests. He came up with examples of papers credited to certain academics that were in fact ghost-written by pharmaceutical company staff and reviewed by captured “peers”. See:

    http://www.counterpunch.org/mazur02262010.html

    Of course, no doubt there are some bad apples among the retirees too.

    • NickS 8.1
      9 June 2010 at 4:50 pm

      …And it’s by Suzan Mazur, who cannot in any way be relied to get anything to do with science _right_

      Ugh, I lack the motivation to even slog through Mazur’s interview, let alone put the brain into gear to critically look at Noble’s answers and get into the finer issues with peer review.

  9. Andy 9
    9 June 2010 at 1:09 pm

    On the subject of Oreskes claims, I though you might be interested in the following comments (h/t Bishop Hill commenter “Mac”)


    In 2004, history professor Naomi Oreskes performed a survey of research papers on climate change. Examining peer-reviewed papers published on the ISI Web of Science database from 1993 to 2003, she found a majority supported the “consensus view,” defined as humans were having at least some effect on global climate change. Oreskes’ work has been repeatedly cited.

    Medical researcher Dr. Klaus-Martin Schulte updated this research. Using the same database and search terms as Oreskes, he examined all papers published from 2004 to February 2007. Of 528 total papers on climate change, only 38 (7%) gave an explicit endorsement of the consensus. However, while only 32 papers (6%) reject the consensus outright, the largest category (48%) are neutral papers, refusing to either accept or reject the AGW hypothesis.

    So is Naomi Oreskes being completely impartial here?

  10. Craig Marshall 10
    9 June 2010 at 2:01 pm

    So four professors emeriti attract your scorn on the basis that that they hold views outside of their nominal areas of expertise and with which you disagree. On this basis you condemn the whole class?

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1
      9 June 2010 at 2:28 pm

      Ah, no. They get scorned because it’s provable that they don’t know WTF they’re talking about.

    • lprent 10.2
      9 June 2010 at 3:15 pm

      Draco caught the sentiment…. BTW: I only commented on two – did you actually read the post or just the first quotation?

      Based on his track record for the last 30 years, Fred Singer seems to have been more concerned with getting the ‘right’ ideological answer on a large number of topics than he is with the science.

      Easterbrook looks more like he is stretching the data to get the ‘pure’ conclusion he’d like, while ignoring the effects that those pesky humans are adding to the geological processes.

      Both aren’t exactly good role models for the PE status.

      • Craig Marshall 10.2.1
        10 June 2010 at 9:32 am

        I stand corrected. My point remains. The fact that two (or five if you included those in the quotation) professors emeriti hold views with which you disagree proves exactly what? You cannot generalize from that to justified scorn for the whole class of such people.
        Having said that, I’d agree that a title such as this offers little in the way of authority per se: the test is the quality of their arguments (and not just whether they agree with you) and the data they offer.
        And is it really provable they don’t know what they are talking about, or is it just they take a different point of view?

        • NickS 10.2.1.1
          10 June 2010 at 12:59 pm

          Ye gads, in this age of google you’d think people would at least be able to do rudimentary searches and a bit of basic research. Which in terms of the particular people lprent’s talking about leads one to a whole range of good material on the bad science these people have pushed and in the case of Singer, still do.

          e.g.
          http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fred_Singer

          Or you could just use wikipedia.

          Which lprent’s linked to in the post.

          So go forth and fucking _read_ before asking fairly stupid questions.

  11. Craig Marshall 11
    11 June 2010 at 9:07 am

    The claim that lprent made was a general one. My point is that however doubtful the ideas that any emeritus professor such as Fred Singer (or anyone else) might promote, it does not follow that all professors emeriti are idiots. For each Singer there is a Flynn (but I’ll bet there is range of opinion on Jim Flynn’s political views).

  12. Andy 12
    12 June 2010 at 10:00 pm

    Not quite as impressive as Emeritus Professor, but I see that the climatic claque have been suitably rewarded in the Queen’s honours

    http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/6/12/gongs-for-greens.html

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
    Distinguished guests -   It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders.   Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
    Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia.   Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago

  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
    Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Overseas decommissioning models considered
    Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
    Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order.  “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
    Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
    Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing  At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin    Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho    Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.    I am delighted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions.   “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says.    “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
    New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today.   “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale.  “It is good ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
    The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Trade relationship with China remains strong
    “China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.   Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Opinion: It’s time for an arts and creative sector strategy
    I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-26T02:20:43+00:00