Tēnā koutou katoa

I hope everyone has stayed warm on these cold nights, even as we contemplate the stark messages in the latest IPCC WG1 Assessment Report. 

This is a brief membership update, with a couple key messages. 

First, all individual and corporate members will now see membership subscription reminder emails. We now ask that you pay these through the automatic credit card facility if at all possible, as we've elected to keep costs down (particularly for students and ECRs) by avoiding a secretariat service. Subscriptions are nominally due 1 September, and you'll get more reminders. Many of you have already selected the most convenient option possible – auto payment. The one problem with this is that it seems to generate an unexplained error for members who don't remember this is in place, or who need to update their credit card. In the latter case, it seems to work best if you send an email to membership@scientists.org.nz so we can cancel your old autopayment; you can then set up the new payment. Last, if you're having trouble, always check that you're accessing your membership after successfully logging by clicking on your name at the upper left corner of the website.

Second, I'm pleased to announce that we've decided to return to a one-day combined Conference, AGM and Awards event. We'll aim for Wellington this year, please save the date of Monday 15 November. 

Our conference theme follows messages from ministers that there is an agenda to reform both the science and funding system. 

Our working theme is "Reshaping NZ’s Research System: Finding Solutions."

Council has been busy since my last update. Two ECR Councillors, Georgia Carson and Khoon Lim, and I  met with the Associate Minister Hon Ayesha Verrall to emphasise our concerns about the well-being of ECRs and system as a whole. It would be difficult to imagine a more receptive audience – indeed the Minister was until recently classed as an ECR herself.

Over on our news page, you can read more about our activities if you haven't noticed them. We've also made the most detailed response to sudden discussion of Mātauranga and Science, reinforcing the success of our double special issue on the topic. I'd like to note again the deliberation on this topic is needed but has been difficult for many.

We also released a statement supporting transgender scientists. Seeing our twitter posting attract vast traffic and over 270,000 views underscored the need for empathy and support for our colleagues. Aroha nui and big thanks to Councillor Lucy Stewart for leading both these statements.

Remember that the electronic copy of the latest NZSR is now available to paid-up members (and contains a President's column). 

Last and further down the news page, you'll see the item from May on our call for renewal of the science system, likely to be hot topic this year with expected consultation and our conference. We are here to aid debate and discourse, so don't forget we host a Slack group for ECRs (with some mentors also engaged) and can promote debate in many forms including blogs on our website and NZSR submissions. Please encourage colleagues who benefit from or want to engage with our goals to join. And most perhaps importantly, please consider nominations for new Councillors – perhaps yourself!

Thanks for your continued support of NZAS.

Ngā mihi nui

Troy Baisden

President

Save the date:

Monday 15 November Conference, AGM & Awards in Wellington:

"Reshaping NZ’s Research System: Finding Solutions"