News
Can we buy time to save our native trees?
Myrtle rust poses a threat to pōhutukawa and 14 other native trees. Myrtle rust poses a risk of wiping out New Zealand’s Christmas tree, the pōhutukawa, and could harm manuka honey production, says Dr Mark Harvey from the University of Auckland. “It’s destroying whole...
A Coming Water Crisis: Science, Politics, and Solutions
Flooded building and tree trunk by Basile Morin. Used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Date and Time: Thurs, 29 May 4pm-5:30pm NZST Location: Old Government House, 24 Princes Street Event Description: Please join us for a bite, a beverage, and a salon discussion with our expert...
Eco Film Festival Tickets Now Available!
FREE tickets for Ngā Ara Whetū's second Eco Film Festival are now available! On Saturday 7 June we will be holding three sessions of films focused on ecology and the people situated within it, at Academy Cinemas underneath the Central Library Building, 44 Lorne...
Opinion: The politics driving the mass tragedy of native species decline
The on-going population declines of native wildlife in Aotearoa New Zealand are being perpetuated by politics and our discourses regarding the environment, according to Professor Maria Armoudian, Co-director of Ngā Ara Whetū and Senior Lecturer in Politics and...
Sustain Episode 14: How can we deal with the threat posed by microplastics?
From the Antarctic to the deepest depths of the ocean, microplastics are found in increasingly large numbers. These tiny, seemingly inescapable plastics pose a range of threats to human health, animal life and the ecosystems on which we rely. How can we deal with this...
Eco Film Festival 2025 – Coming Soon
Coming Soon - save the date! Our second eco film festival is taking place on Saturday 7 June 2025 at the Academy Cinemas in Auckland. This year the festival spotlights the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit – a global dialogue on climate change and human...
Auckland Festival of Photography 2025
Photo: Julia Crosfield, Rock pools, North Shore, Tāmaki Makaurau, 2025. Visit, and Vote for the People's Choice Award! We are printing the images now! A big thank you to all of the people who contributed inspiring and thought-provoking images to our photograph...
Sustain Episode 13: What is the link between authoritarianism and climate change?
Despite increasing signs of a climate in crisis, false information about this scientific reality continues to drive decision-making at the highest level, particularly in countries which have recently taken a turn towards authoritarianism. Who is spreading this false...
Ngā Ara Whetū and CIRCUIT Submission on the Right to Repair Bill 2024
The Select Committee on Economic Development, Science and Innovation put out a public call for submissions on the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill 2024 (39-1) on February 19 2025. We strongly support the Bill, and in this submission make a few...
Project for Media in the Public Interest
Want to understand the world better? Get some context around some of the big questions? Have a fresh light shed on global issues and political debate?
The Project for Media in the Public Interest (PMPI) is a website connecting audiences to informed dialogue about science, economics, arts and politics. Academics from across disciplines at the University of Auckland, across America, Europe, Australia and other universities discuss their research on important topics via videos, podcasts, interviews, symposia and opinion pieces.
“We are aiming to elevate critical thinking, raise the level of public debate, and counter the trend towards soft news,” says the project’s founding director, political scientist Dr Maria Armoudian.
Contact us
Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland
Auckland 1010, Aotearoa New Zealand
