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Speaker's Science Forum 2023

Research presentations are organised for Members of Parliament, in collaboration with the Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament.

The topics are selected in collaboration with Forum partners Science New Zealand, Universities New Zealand and the Independent Research Association of New Zealand.

  • Food security in the face of global challenges

    The first event in our Speaker’s Science Forum series for 2023 was held on 21 Huitanguru February at Parliament. The central focus of the forum was the major risks to food security in Aotearoa and how we can prevent or mitigate these issues to ensure a food secure future.

  • Climate change and water

    The second event in our Speaker’s Science Forum series for 2023 was held on 10 Haratau May at Parliament. Our speakers discussed the risks of climate change in Aotearoa and how it is affecting our groundwater and health.

  • Data Sovereignty

    Professor Tahu Kukutai FRSNZ discussed how Indigenous models of ‘good data’ provide a way forward for creating ethical, high-value, high-trust data ecosystems. Professor James Mclaurin provided an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and how rapid changes in this area will affect the principles that guide the use of data in Aotearoa New Zealand.

  • Genetic technology and healthcare

    The fourth event in our Speaker’s Science Forum series for 2023 was held on 19 Hōngongoi July at Parliament. Dr Robert Weinkove discussed the latest advances in CAR T-cell therapy to target blood cancers and Professor Justin O’Sullivan provided an overview of precision health and its capacity to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease with great accuracy for individuals and their whānau.

  • Space research

    The fifth and final event in our Speaker’s Science Forum series for 2023 was held on 2 Here-turi-kōkā August at Parliament. Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher presented New Zealand government’s first satellite mission, MethaneSAT, for precision sensing of methane emissions and Dr Michele Bannister shared recent data from the James Webb Space Telescope on the origins of our Solar System.

Speaker's Science Forum

  • Plastics in the Environment
    Understanding Aotearoa's plastics problem