Speakers

Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack and Israel’s heavy military response are the latest episodes of a history of antagonism.  This slideshow will sketch the causes and flare-ups prior to the current conflict, describe the current aims and tactics of the two sides, and assess the prospects for a stable Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. 

Conflicts with Hezbollah, Houthis, and Iran, and relations with the Gulf emirates and the US, will be touched on. 

Questions and comments will be welcome.  For background reading the following link is recommended:  https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350113942/israel-winning-militarily-losing-political-war

Our December  speaker  was Dr Mels Barton

An environmental scientist turned coordinator, campaigner, organiser, networker and environmental advocate, Mels works with community organisations and not-for-profits including the Kauri Rescue Trust and The Tree Council.She is Chair of both the Titirangi Residents & Ratepayers Association and the Combined Waitākere Ranges R&R Group and is a former Trustee of Ecomatters Environment Trust and the Weedfree Trust.

Mels currently works as the Project Coordinator for Kauri Rescue and was the National and Auckland Coordinator of NZAEE Seaweek from 2011 to 2019. She was a leading member of the Waitākere Rāhui campaign working to support Te Kawerau ā Maki and has been campaigning for better management and awareness of kauri dieback disease since it was discovered in Piha in 2006.

Mels has a degree in Geology and Physical Geography and PhD in estuarine sediment transport processes. In the UK she worked for Environment Agency Wales for 9 years, culminating as the Water Quality Consents Manager for Wales.

Since arriving in NZ she has mostly been self employed but did spend 5 years working for Te Atatu Labour MP and Minister Phil Twyford as his Issues Assistant.

Mels runs her own consultancy business Subliminal Ltd, which enables her to work on many environmental projects including Seaweek, and the citizen science initiatives Kauri Rescue and Marine Metre Squared.

Mels has lived in Titirangi, west Auckland for 24 years since emigrating from Wales in 1999 & in her spare time she enjoys hanging out with her horses and walking her dogs.

Mel related her journey to obtain the protection of the kauri forests in the Waitakeres and Hunuas. She told us about a phosphite which helps trees fight against the kauri dieback disease, which was very encouraging for the audience. She continues to advocate and support the ongoing fight for our native icon.

Michelle Brinsden, The Project Coordinator for the Eastern Bays Songbird Project, gave an intersting talk about protecting birds in the Eastern Bays. The project distributes rat and possum traps to residents so that they can trap in their own backyards. Protecting our biodiversity is essential. Michelle talked about what we can do to assist this project which has been very successful so far.

What does forced labour and migrant worker exploitation look like in New Zealand?

September 11^th Speaker

Dr Christina Stringer is Associate Professor, Centre for Research on Modern Slavery, University of Auckland Business School.

Christina has been undertaking research into temporary migrant worker exploitation in New Zealand for over a decade. Her research began with colleagues investigating the use of forced labour on board foreign vessels fishing in New Zealand’s waters. This research led to a significant shift in government policy. She then undertook research into the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in New Zealand, firstly, for a coalition of NGOs and most recently for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Christina is a member of the Government’s Modern Slavery Leadership Advisory Group.

Complaints matter: lessons from a public watchdog

Our speaker for August.

Ron Paterson has been a law professor, author, Health and Disability Commissioner, Ombudsman and chair of major inquiries and reviews in New Zealand and Australia.

In this talk, Ron will share lessons from 20 years plus of handling complaints and reviewing complaint systems – about doctors, hospitals, rest homes, local councillors, bureaucrats, lawyers, banks and power companies.

Our speaker for June will be Professor Stephen Hoadley.   You will remember he gave us a fascinating talk last year about the Ukraine, how it came to be and some of the politics associated with its formation.

On June 12^th he will be speaking to us again, the topic this time being “An American Political Update”

Jenny Lynch is a former editor of the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she began her career in journalism. She also worked on the Weekly News, Sunday Herald, Thursday magazine, and in Australia and Canada. Although principally a feature writer, she gained wide experience in other magazine roles. At various times she was a columnist, fashion writer, theatre critic and layout designer.

In 1976 she returned to the NZ Woman’s Weekly, where she became assistant editor the following year and editor in 1987. She led the magazine for seven years.

Jenny is also the author of four non-fiction books including a memoir, “Under The Covers: Secrets of a Magazine Editor” and “Ready To Wear: The Changing Shape of New Zealand Fashion.” Her latest work, a novel, was recently accepted for publication.
Jenny was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar and in the United States.

Her talk to U3A on the history of (mainly) 20th century fashion is titled “You Must Remember This…”

Alan is a retired civil engineer and project manager who joined the embryonic Auckland East Men’s Shed group in 2016. He is an enthusiast for the enhancement of wellbeing and mental health of the older generation. He has been a member of the Shed’s Board for the last 5 years and was elected Chair in 2022.

Alan gave an engaging talk to our Remuera U3A April meeting, complete with slides illustrating the work he has been involved in. This has included an interior refit of the building the Auckland Council made available to them for the Men’s shed, beside the Remuera golf course on Abbott’s Way

His primary contributions to the Shed have been
• Planning and supervision of the Buildings Improvement Programme
• Development of environmental pest traps manufacture
• Encouragement of a welcoming inclusive culture for members.

He had many interesting tales to tell about the growth to over 200 members over the time he has been involved, including more latterly, women joining.

Over a million good reasons…
“There are 6.5 million dairy cows in New Zealand, each producing on average 27 kilograms
of dung a day. By the time you add in another 3.6 million beef cattle and 27.4 million sheep
that is over 100,000,000 tonnes of dung each year.”

Launched in 2014, Dung Beetle Innovations owes its existence to the combined efforts of co-founders Dr Shaun Forgie and Andrew Barber. These two formed the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Group that campaigned since 2009 for the introduction of dung beetles to New Zealand. On behalf of the Group, Dr Forgie provided the science for the Environmental Protection Authority application to introduce exotic dung beetles to New Zealand.

The majority of the 6,000 species of dung beetles worldwide are tunnellers, with the remainder being either “ball-rollers” or “dwellers” that live within the dung piles. Tunnellers dig extensive burrows in the soil beneath the manure. They make large numbers of dung balls in these tunnels resulting the burial of most of the manure on the pasture surface which the adult beetles lay eggs in. All this buried manure is a rich source of nitrogen and other nutrients that are available for soil microbes, earthworms and plant roots when the new generations of dung beetles have emerged from them. All these tunnels and soil mixing vastly improves soil structure and with it improved infiltration of rain water rather than it running off into our waterways carrying with it the contaminants that lead to reduced water quality.

Dung Beetle Innovations is dedicated to rebalancing New Zealand’s pastoral farming systems – improving water quality and soil health – through the establishment of tunneling dung beetles as a sustainable farm management practice by introducing 11 exotic pastoral dung beetles to New Zealand. The objective is to provide NZ an innovative, environmentally beneficial, self sustainable means to clean up its livestock pastures, reduce surface runoff and improve soil health.