Uni joins SAR to protect scholars
Schools and universities are often targeted, looted, burned or used for military purposes, and those who work there are harassed and censored because of the thoughts they share and the questions they ask.
Eventually, many are forced to leave their country for their own safety.
So the University of Otago has joined Scholars at Risk (SAR).
SAR is an international network of higher education institutions and individuals, dedicated to protecting threatened scholars, preventing attacks on higher education, and promoting academic freedom and related values worldwide.
University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said the network's values aligned with Otago's — protecting scholars and promoting academic freedom.
"In the world we live in today, we are all aware of significant conflicts and displacement of people.
"This is a practical step the university can take to support those most impacted, to continue their academic study and research.
"SAR provides support, among other things, for universities to provide a home for academics who are displaced or whose work is disrupted by conflict.
"We join more than 300 host institutions across the world, committed to protecting and promoting academic freedom."
Dunedin and the wider Otago community had a long history in welcoming individuals and families who had been forcibly displaced from their homes.
"We are proud to do our part in supporting that."
Alongside partnering with SAR, the university is also in the process of establishing scholarships for two undergraduate students and two doctoral candidates from conflict zones.
College of Education dean Prof Vivienne Anderson has conducted substantial research on the experiences of students with refugee backgrounds, and said educated citizens played a critical role in the work of peace-building and the re-establishment of a stable civil society after conflict.
"Supporting displaced scholars' ongoing access to education and academic engagement is both an ethical response to urgent human need and an investment in more peaceful global futures.
"It is strategic and timely to actively support displaced scholars at a time when forced displacement is at the highest level since World War 2."
Unesco refugee integration through education, languages and arts chairwoman and University of Glasgow languages and intercultural studies Prof Alison Phipps said news of the University of Otago's support for SAR was "immensely welcome".
"I have witnessed the difference it makes to those who find protection for themselves, their families and their scholarship.
"My respect, gratitude and solidarity to the university in taking this step and making such profound change possible.
"Your gesture strengthens the work we are all doing to build sustainable peace."
john.lewis@odt.co.nz
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1News
a day ago
- 1News
'Show trial': Robertson on turning down Covid inquiry public hearing
Former finance minister Grant Robertson has defended turning down an invitation to appear at public hearings of the Covid-19 inquiry, describing the process as a "show trial" and saying he's already given hours of interviews. A second week of public hearings at the inquiry was cancelled after former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, current Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Robertson and former health minister Ayesha Verrall all turned down invitations to appear. Commissioners opted not to use their powers to summons the four ex-ministers. Robertson told Q+A earlier this week that the second phase of the inquiry, initiated by the National-led government, seemed to have a "show trial approach". Labour pandemic-era ministers Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall have also declined. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT "I have participated in both phases of the Covid inquiry. In total, now I'm up to about four and a half hours worth of interviews," he said. "When I finished my most recent interview with this phase, one of the staff of the Royal Commission said to me, 'You've answered all of the questions we've asked and more.' "We have participated. I have participated. I don't know that in a lessons learned inquiry, the kind of show trial approach is actually that valuable." Asked why he thought it was a "show trial", Robertson argued: "We've got precedent. We haven't done this in Royal Commissions in New Zealand in the past, [where we] have politicians and former politicians come into the public arena." Government party leaders have criticised the ex-Labour ministers for not appearing at the inquiry, saying they were not fronting up to critical questions about their actions. Grant Robertson (file image). (Source: 1News) Robertson was appearing on Q+A in advance of the release of his memoir, Anything Could Happen, which is being released later this week. ADVERTISEMENT In the interview, he was also asked about the Labour government's pandemic-era spending levels, his views on New Zealand's tax system, and reflecting on moments in his life. After leaving politics, Robertson became the vice-chancellor of Otago University. Former finance minister defends pandemic-era spending Robertson was also asked about the release of a recent Treasury report, which intimated the government spent too much during the pandemic response. The former finance minister defended his actions and emphasised the proportion of spending that went towards initiatives, like the wage subsidy scheme. He said: "If we think about the period in the latter part of 2021, Treasury was absolutely saying, 'You've got to be careful about the amount you're spending.' "But they also recommended in papers I remember from August and September of 2021, when Delta arrived, that we should keep support going. Grant Robertson. (Source: Getty) ADVERTISEMENT "They said don't increase it too much, but keep it going. By May 2022, when the Budget was put forward, we closed the Covid fund. In a sense, I don't really disagree with them, at one level. I just think there's a little bit of hindsight there too. Yes, we had to be careful. "But they also said you need to look after businesses and families when Delta arrived." Robertson said he thought the delivery outcomes of the previous Labour government at the time "generally" matched the scale of spending on programmes. But he conceded "there are going to be things where it didn't work", including so-called "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects that turned out "weren't quite ready to go". "The spending there ended up happening both over a longer time, and perhaps not in quite the way we might have wanted." In its long-term insights briefing, Treasury officials wrote that "many programmes" in the Ardern government's fiscal response had a "lagged impact on the economy" and "proved difficult to unwind in later years" as high inflation emerged. Officials said the previous government spent on a "wide range of initiatives with varied objectives over the period. These included, among others, shovel-ready projects, the Jobs For Nature scheme, more public housing, and even the school lunch programme." ADVERTISEMENT Inquiry due to report back in February Covid-19 inquiry commissioners restated that they had "not changed its view that an open hearing would enhance public confidence in its processes". Inquiry chairperson Grant Illingworth KC said: "The Covid-19 pandemic was a significant event that affected every New Zealander. "The government at the time, through its ministers, made decisions about how we as a nation responded to that pandemic, which had implications for all of us. "We have been tasked with reviewing those decisions, and we thought it was important that the public see and hear for themselves important evidence about why some key decisions about the response to Covid-19 were made and for what reason." GPs say they've seen busy winter periods before and the system is ready to cope. (Source: 1News) Commissioners were due to report back to the Governor-General at the end of February 2026, and the decision not to proceed with a hearing would not impact timelines. ADVERTISEMENT A second phase of the Royal Commission into the Covid-19 response was introduced by the Government after a "first phase" which was completed last year. Some of the previous Labour government's decisions around the pandemic response proved to be extremely contentious – so much so that both ACT and NZ First campaigned on expanding an inquiry into those decisions. Expanding the terms of reference and public hearings into the Covid-19 response were part of National and NZ First's coalition agreement to form a government. For the full interview, watch the video above Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Grant Robertson Stands By Covid-Era Spending In Wake Of Treasury 'Rewriting History'
Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson is standing by his economic spending decisions, and rejects the suggestion the last Labour government did not have enough real-world experience. He says Labour was "absolutely" ready for government when Winston Peters chose the party over National in 2017, and the high volume of working groups was a result of wanting to include people in the areas "where there was big change required". Robertson was being interviewed by Susie Ferguson on Nine to Noon to promote his new book Anything Could Happen, which is available in bookstores from today. Covid-19 spending: 'Rewriting of history' He says Labour's election loss in 2023 was primarily because it was a "cost of living election". "There were other issues that sit beside that ... crime in Auckland was a big deal through that period of time, Covid, there was still some hangover from ... and just how much we'd been in people's lives. "I remember, and I recount in the book, door knocking in Wellington Central in that '23 campaign and a woman thanking me for for the work that we'd done and said 'but you've had nine years, and I think it's time for a change'. "It took me quite a while to convince her we had only had six. It sort of felt like nine for people because we were so involved in everybody's lives, but I fundamentally believe the core issue was around the cost of living - and people look for a change often when that's happening." Despite that, he stood by the fiscal decisions made at the time. "Treasury and others, as has been reported recently, were saying to us 'you need to be careful about the impact of what you're doing on inflation, on the economy' - and we knew that. "But as I say, Delta arrived August 2021, we had to deal with that - and actually the Treasury supported us continuing on with the spending that we were doing. It's a bit of a rewriting of history to be frank, to say that they didn't." He said the government did not know how long Covid was going to last, or the severity of the health or economic impacts - and was criticised by political opponents for not spending more in late 2021. "I remember vividly the day I got the report from Treasury in early 2020 to tell me that we were facing a scenario of 13.5 percent unemployment, and from my perspective as the person dealing more with the economic rather than the health side I just knew I wasn't going to stand by and let that happen." The Covid Recovery Fund was closed in 2022 but "then we get to the 2023 Budget and we're dealing with the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle". "We all knew that we had to be careful with where we went, and we didn't introduce in large number of new measures after late 2021 but we did carry on with the ones we had, because we still needed to look after New Zealanders and businesses. "I get it that by 2022 the whole country - including us - was thoroughly sick of Covid." He said the more deadly Delta variant had needed additional support and interventions, and while the country reopening did not happen as fast as some would like, "we stayed the course on saving lives", pointing to a report from Michael Plank showing excess death rates significantly lower in New Zealand compared to other countries. Covid-19 division: 'This is not New Zealand' The policies were divisive though, and Robertson said his emotional response to the protest on Parliament's lawn was that "this is not New Zealand". As MP for Wellington at the time, he was perturbed seeing the physical and mental damage after the country pulled together during the pandemic. "They were being spat at for wearing masks, there were students going to the high schools around the area who had to be supported by security guards, and I just had that feeling 'this is not the country that I am so proud to be a part of'." "That was the big emotion that I had. And the fire, I remember thinking gosh, as well as the children's playground that's there in Parliament you've got two huge old trees that have been in the grounds forever and they appeared to be going up in smoke as well and it was just horrifying to watch. And then the violence that just followed on from that." He and other former ministers Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and Ayesha Verrall refused to attend the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry's public hearings last week. He said he felt he had cooperated, but was concerned about the nature of the public hearings, and "the precedent effect of calling ministers and former minsters to that, the capacity for material to be misused". "I think for me I'm up to about four and a half hours of interviews. When I finished my last set of interviews recently one of the staff at the Royal Commission said 'you've answered all of our questions and more', I left that meeting saying 'look, if you've got any further questions let us know'. He referred to the phrase the former ministers used in explaining why they were not appearing, that it would be performative, not informative. "This is meant to be a lessons learned exercise, I welcomed that, I think it's great that we've learned the lessons of Covid - but I think it was moving in a direction that was not really about that." Politics: 'We had a very clear plan' Robertson said Peters' announcement that he would go into government with Labour in 2017 was an "extraordinary few minutes in politics for everybody in New Zealand" - a genuine moment of not knowing what would happen. But Labour was, he said, "absolutely ready for government", pointing to the first 100 days plan, which included the Families Package: Family Tax credits, Best Start payments for young families, Winter Energy payments for older and poorer New Zealanders, and Accommodation Supplement increases. The government also set up the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, and brought in a free first year of tertiary education. "We had a very clear plan. We also inherited a number of areas where there was big change required, and we wanted to involve and include people in that, and that's where you get working groups and so on coming from. "I felt like, you know, we balanced together some really important immediate issues that we were addressing, along with getting into those bigger topics which eventually turned into quite substantive change in the health system, vocational education, resource management and so on." He rejected the suggestion the 2017 Labour caucus had too many career politicians, and too little experience outside of politics. "I don't accept that at all. I mean, we had a good range of skills and backgrounds and experiences in our Cabinet." He said his understanding of the political and Parliamentary system was valuable, but he also learnt a lot about people from being an electorate MP. His electorate office was across the road from the Work and Income office and he would watch the people "at the end of their tether who we were there to help". "The same with refugees who resettled, or people who were struggling with housing, or the health system - you learn a lot, and we're all part of our communities, whatever working background that we might have had." Ardern approached him to take over from her when she was planning to step down as prime minister. Robertson said various factors led him to refuse the job - particularly, that he had seen what it required. "I obviously looked at Jacinda's decision in two ways. One was as her friend, where I could absolutely understand the reasons why she wanted to step away. As her political colleague, I was clearly concerned about what that meant for us as a government, and where we were heading." He said physical and mental health played a part in his decision not to take on the role, along with threats and abuse he faced towards the end of the Covid-19 response - but it was his decision years earlier not to pursue it that was a bigger factor. "And I felt that knowing up close what being prime minister was about, you need to be able to give that 120 percent, you can't go into it with any suggestion of doubts of whether you want to do the job - that would be incredibly selfish to do that. "So really those considerations were bigger for me." Childhood challenges Robertson's book also covers his early years as the son of a lay minister, as the sports-mad youngest of three boys, his struggles with telling his family about his sexuality, and the shock of his father's imprisonment. He told Nine to Noon his father being sentenced for stealing from his employer was "devastating" both personally for him as a young student and for his family, particularly his mother. With her husband in jail and her children studying, the family had little income at that point. "My father was obviously the person who had to go to prison, and he'd done something very stupid to put himself in that position. But it reverberates quickly. "I loved my father very much. I was angry with him about what he'd done. He'd let down a lot of people around him and breached the trust of a lot of people around him, but I still needed to be there for him. "And so the next sort of 18 months or so that he was in prison, I visited him pretty much every week and learned a lot about what is good and mostly about what is bad in our prison system. And you know, just try to support him as best I could, but it was a devastating blow for everybody." He said he was fascinated as a 12-year-old by the 1984 election "which marks me out as a complete nerd, I realise", but politics was often discussed and debated within the family. "My mother is a very political person with strong views, and we heard about them a lot when we were at home. And you know that, I guess, flowed through to me." Opening up to his family about being gay was more of a struggle, however. "I didn't really have a word for it for a while, but particularly around the period of the Homosexual Law Reform Act that - obviously, there was huge debate, it was not a positive debate ... so that was, unfortunately for me, almost exactly the time that I was coming to understand that I probably was gay. "And I was growing up in the church and while it was a fairly liberal church environment it still, there was connotations and negativity ... I kind of kept it in a box for a long time. "One or two friends sort of found out, and then I had an unfortunate incident where I got very, very drunk and went to a party and the subject my sexuality was on show in a really unfortunate way ... I had a very supportive family through that period, and friends as well. But like a lot of teenagers, I was doing some pretty risky things while I was working out who I was."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Rewriting of history': Robertson stands by Covid spending
By Russell Palmer of RNZ Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson is standing by his economic spending decisions, and rejects the suggestion the last Labour government did not have enough real-world experience. He says Labour was "absolutely" ready for government when Winston Peters chose the party over National in 2017, and the high volume of working groups was a result of wanting to include people in the areas "where there was big change required". Robertson was being interviewed by Susie Ferguson on RNZ to promote his new book Anything Could Happen, which is available in bookstores from today. Covid-19 spending: 'Rewriting of history' He says Labour's election loss in 2023 was primarily because it was a "cost of living election". "There were other issues that sit beside that ... crime in Auckland was a big deal through that period of time, Covid, there was still some hangover from ... and just how much we'd been in people's lives. "I remember, and I recount in the book, door knocking in Wellington Central in that '23 campaign and a woman thanking me for for the work that we'd done and said 'but you've had nine years, and I think it's time for a change'. "It took me quite a while to convince her we had only had six. It sort of felt like nine for people because we were so involved in everybody's lives, but I fundamentally believe the core issue was around the cost of living - and people look for a change often when that's happening." Despite that, he stood by the fiscal decisions made at the time. "Treasury and others, as has been reported recently, were saying to us 'you need to be careful about the impact of what you're doing on inflation, on the economy' - and we knew that. "But as I say, Delta arrived August 2021, we had to deal with that - and actually the Treasury supported us continuing on with the spending that we were doing. It's a bit of a rewriting of history to be frank, to say that they didn't." He said the government did not know how long Covid was going to last, or the severity of the health or economic impacts - and was criticised by political opponents for not spending more in late 2021. "I remember vividly the day I got the report from Treasury in early 2020 to tell me that we were facing a scenario of 13.5 percent unemployment, and from my perspective as the person dealing more with the economic rather than the health side I just knew I wasn't going to stand by and let that happen." The Covid Recovery Fund was closed in 2022 but "then we get to the 2023 Budget and we're dealing with the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle". "We all knew that we had to be careful with where we went, and we didn't introduce in large number of new measures after late 2021 but we did carry on with the ones we had, because we still needed to look after New Zealanders and businesses. "I get it that by 2022 the whole country - including us - was thoroughly sick of Covid." He said the more deadly Delta variant had needed additional support and interventions, and while the country reopening did not happen as fast as some would like, "we stayed the course on saving lives", pointing to a report from Michael Plank showing excess death rates significantly lower in New Zealand compared to other countries. Covid-19 division: 'This is not New Zealand' The policies were divisive though, and Robertson said his emotional response to the protest on Parliament's lawn was that "this is not New Zealand". As MP for Wellington at the time, he was perturbed seeing the physical and mental damage after the country pulled together during the pandemic. "They were being spat at for wearing masks, there were students going to the high schools around the area who had to be supported by security guards, and I just had that feeling 'this is not the country that I am so proud to be a part of'." "That was the big emotion that I had. And the fire, I remember thinking gosh, as well as the children's playground that's there in Parliament you've got two huge old trees that have been in the grounds forever and they appeared to be going up in smoke as well and it was just horrifying to watch. And then the violence that just followed on from that." He and other former ministers Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and Ayesha Verrall refused to attend the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry's public hearings last week. He said he felt he had cooperated, but was concerned about the nature of the public hearings, and "the precedent effect of calling ministers and former minsters to that, the capacity for material to be misused". "I think for me I'm up to about four and a half hours of interviews. When I finished my last set of interviews recently one of the staff at the Royal Commission said 'you've answered all of our questions and more', I left that meeting saying 'look, if you've got any further questions let us know'. He referred to the phrase the former ministers used in explaining why they were not appearing, that it would be performative, not informative. "This is meant to be a lessons learned exercise, I welcomed that, I think it's great that we've learned the lessons of Covid - but I think it was moving in a direction that was not really about that." Politics: 'We had a very clear plan' Robertson said Peters' announcement that he would go into government with Labour in 2017 was an "extraordinary few minutes in politics for everybody in New Zealand" - a genuine moment of not knowing what would happen. But Labour was, he said, "absolutely ready for government", pointing to the first 100 days plan, which included the Families Package: Family Tax credits, Best Start payments for young families, Winter Energy payments for older and poorer New Zealanders, and Accommodation Supplement increases. The government also set up the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, and brought in a free first year of tertiary education. "We had a very clear plan. We also inherited a number of areas where there was big change required, and we wanted to involve and include people in that, and that's where you get working groups and so on coming from. "I felt like, you know, we balanced together some really important immediate issues that we were addressing, along with getting into those bigger topics which eventually turned into quite substantive change in the health system, vocational education, resource management and so on." He rejected the suggestion the 2017 Labour caucus had too many career politicians, and too little experience outside of politics. "I don't accept that at all. I mean, we had a good range of skills and backgrounds and experiences in our Cabinet." He said his understanding of the political and Parliamentary system was valuable, but he also learnt a lot about people from being an electorate MP. His electorate office was across the road from the Work and Income office and he would watch the people "at the end of their tether who we were there to help". "The same with refugees who resettled, or people who were struggling with housing, or the health system - you learn a lot, and we're all part of our communities, whatever working background that we might have had." Ardern approached him to take over from her when she was planning to step down as prime minister. Robertson said various factors led him to refuse the job - particularly, that he had seen what it required. "I obviously looked at Jacinda's decision in two ways. One was as her friend, where I could absolutely understand the reasons why she wanted to step away. As her political colleague, I was clearly concerned about what that meant for us as a government, and where we were heading." He said physical and mental health played a part in his decision not to take on the role, along with threats and abuse he faced towards the end of the Covid-19 response - but it was his decision years earlier not to pursue it that was a bigger factor. "And I felt that knowing up close what being prime minister was about, you need to be able to give that 120 percent, you can't go into it with any suggestion of doubts of whether you want to do the job - that would be incredibly selfish to do that. "So really those considerations were bigger for me." Childhood challenges Robertson's book also covers his early years as the son of a lay minister, as the sports-mad youngest of three boys, his struggles with telling his family about his sexuality, and the shock of his father's imprisonment. He told RNZ his father being sentenced for stealing from his employer was "devastating" both personally for him as a young student and for his family, particularly his mother. With her husband in jail and her children studying, the family had little income at that point. "My father was obviously the person who had to go to prison, and he'd done something very stupid to put himself in that position. But it reverberates quickly. "I loved my father very much. I was angry with him about what he'd done. He'd let down a lot of people around him and breached the trust of a lot of people around him, but I still needed to be there for him. "And so the next sort of 18 months or so that he was in prison, I visited him pretty much every week and learned a lot about what is good and mostly about what is bad in our prison system. And you know, just try to support him as best I could, but it was a devastating blow for everybody." He said he was fascinated as a 12-year-old by the 1984 election "which marks me out as a complete nerd, I realise", but politics was often discussed and debated within the family. "My mother is a very political person with strong views, and we heard about them a lot when we were at home. And you know that, I guess, flowed through to me." Opening up to his family about being gay was more of a struggle, however. "I didn't really have a word for it for a while, but particularly around the period of the Homosexual Law Reform Act that - obviously, there was huge debate, it was not a positive debate ... so that was, unfortunately for me, almost exactly the time that I was coming to understand that I probably was gay. "And I was growing up in the church and while it was a fairly liberal church environment it still, there was connotations and negativity ... I kind of kept it in a box for a long time. "One or two friends sort of found out, and then I had an unfortunate incident where I got very, very drunk and went to a party and the subject my sexuality was on show in a really unfortunate way ... I had a very supportive family through that period, and friends as well. But like a lot of teenagers, I was doing some pretty risky things while I was working out who I was."
