Latest news with #UniversityofAuckland
Scoop
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Counterterrorism Watchdog Needed
Press Release – University of Auckland An independent watchdog would shine a light into the shadowy world of security and counterterrorism, says Associate Professor John Ip in a research paper. Since the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, New Zealand has introduced several counterterrorism laws, significantly expanding state power. Now, a legal expert says it's time to follow the UK, Australia and Ireland in appointing an independent watchdog to keep that power in check. In his paper, 'The case for an independent reviewer of counterterrorism legislation in New Zealand,' University of Auckland Law Associate Professor, John Ip, says although necessary, counterterrorism legislation often lacks provision for ongoing oversight. Counterterrorism legislation, says Ip, is characterised by a government's need to react to an incident decisively and quickly, leaving little time for public input, legislative deliberation or scrutiny. Once on the books, counterterrorism legislation is rarely repealed and difficult to ratchet back. 'This makes scrutiny and oversight essential, especially given the potential impact on individual rights and freedoms.' Since 2019, New Zealand has introduced counterterrorism legislation including the Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Act, the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Act, and the Counter-Terrorism Acts (Designations and Control Orders) Amendment Act. But Ip says this relative flurry of legislation hasn't been matched by any permanent oversight mechanism. 'It's important that any unintended consequences, gaps and shortcomings are brought to light and that the public have confidence that the powers conferred by counterterrorism legislation are being used appropriately.' Ip argues that creating an independent review entity would enhance public understanding, facilitate evidence-based policymaking and augment existing legal and political avenues of scrutiny and oversight. 'Countries around the world quickly react to acts of terrorism, and in this, we see expansion, or at the very least, some consolidation of the power of the state. We see the creation of a stronger national security state. And as this is happening, we should strengthen the oversight and control of those same institutions.' However, the options for oversight currently available, says Ip, have limitations. 'As is typical of national security matters, secrecy shrouds the operation of counterterrorism law. Secrecy around national security creates a problem – those who might provide oversight often don't have access to the whole picture. 'In the courts, legal challenges depend on individuals bringing cases, but secrecy can mean a wrong can't be established because of a lack of publicly available evidence. When they do hear cases, without a comprehensive picture, judges are also likely to be more deferential.' Temporary review bodies such as public inquiries also have limits, says Ip. For example, the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into the 15 March attacks meant that the Commission was not allowed to look into the police's initial response. 'These kinds of inquiries and bodies also stop existing once they deliver their final report. If the government chooses not to act on the recommendations, there's little option in following up or pushing for change later on. 'These limitations, including that more specialised review bodies tend to be either ad hoc or otherwise circumscribed in scope, suggest the need for something different.' In his paper, Ip examines overseas models, including the UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (IRTL). The IRTL is legally qualified, independent of government, and has access to the same classified information as ministers, enabling impartial, informed oversight. Unlike courts, which look into specific cases, the IRTL has a broad mandate to review counterterrorism legislation as a whole. While the UK model is interesting, Ip says New Zealand might more closely follow the formal statutory approach exemplified by Australia's Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, and to a lesser extent Ireland's Independent Examiner of Security Legislation (IESL). Both are created by legislation with clearly defined powers and responsibilities. 'A permanent independent office, with comprehensive access to information, could review the operation of counterterrorism legislation here and publish reports with findings and recommendations,' says Ip. 'Independent review bodies play a crucial role in shining a light into the shadowy corners of the world of security and counterterrorism.'
Scoop
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Counterterrorism Watchdog Needed
An independent watchdog would shine a light into the shadowy world of security and counterterrorism, says Associate Professor John Ip in a research paper. Since the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, New Zealand has introduced several counterterrorism laws, significantly expanding state power. Now, a legal expert says it's time to follow the UK, Australia and Ireland in appointing an independent watchdog to keep that power in check. In his paper, 'The case for an independent reviewer of counterterrorism legislation in New Zealand,' University of Auckland Law Associate Professor, John Ip, says although necessary, counterterrorism legislation often lacks provision for ongoing oversight. Counterterrorism legislation, says Ip, is characterised by a government's need to react to an incident decisively and quickly, leaving little time for public input, legislative deliberation or scrutiny. Once on the books, counterterrorism legislation is rarely repealed and difficult to ratchet back. 'This makes scrutiny and oversight essential, especially given the potential impact on individual rights and freedoms.' Since 2019, New Zealand has introduced counterterrorism legislation including the Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Act, the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Act, and the Counter-Terrorism Acts (Designations and Control Orders) Amendment Act. But Ip says this relative flurry of legislation hasn't been matched by any permanent oversight mechanism. 'It's important that any unintended consequences, gaps and shortcomings are brought to light and that the public have confidence that the powers conferred by counterterrorism legislation are being used appropriately.' Ip argues that creating an independent review entity would enhance public understanding, facilitate evidence-based policymaking and augment existing legal and political avenues of scrutiny and oversight. 'Countries around the world quickly react to acts of terrorism, and in this, we see expansion, or at the very least, some consolidation of the power of the state. We see the creation of a stronger national security state. And as this is happening, we should strengthen the oversight and control of those same institutions.' However, the options for oversight currently available, says Ip, have limitations. 'As is typical of national security matters, secrecy shrouds the operation of counterterrorism law. Secrecy around national security creates a problem - those who might provide oversight often don't have access to the whole picture. 'In the courts, legal challenges depend on individuals bringing cases, but secrecy can mean a wrong can't be established because of a lack of publicly available evidence. When they do hear cases, without a comprehensive picture, judges are also likely to be more deferential.' Temporary review bodies such as public inquiries also have limits, says Ip. For example, the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into the 15 March attacks meant that the Commission was not allowed to look into the police's initial response. 'These kinds of inquiries and bodies also stop existing once they deliver their final report. If the government chooses not to act on the recommendations, there's little option in following up or pushing for change later on. 'These limitations, including that more specialised review bodies tend to be either ad hoc or otherwise circumscribed in scope, suggest the need for something different.' In his paper, Ip examines overseas models, including the UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (IRTL). The IRTL is legally qualified, independent of government, and has access to the same classified information as ministers, enabling impartial, informed oversight. Unlike courts, which look into specific cases, the IRTL has a broad mandate to review counterterrorism legislation as a whole. While the UK model is interesting, Ip says New Zealand might more closely follow the formal statutory approach exemplified by Australia's Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, and to a lesser extent Ireland's Independent Examiner of Security Legislation (IESL). Both are created by legislation with clearly defined powers and responsibilities. 'A permanent independent office, with comprehensive access to information, could review the operation of counterterrorism legislation here and publish reports with findings and recommendations,' says Ip. 'Independent review bodies play a crucial role in shining a light into the shadowy corners of the world of security and counterterrorism.'
Scoop
20 hours ago
- Science
- Scoop
NZ-funded Climate Satellite Likely 'Not Recoverable'
MethaneSAT lost contact with the ground last Friday, and mission operations learned today that it has also lost power. MethaneSAT said in May that increased solar activity had been sending the satellite into 'safe mode'. The satellite was launched last March to track methane emissions from oil and gas. It is New Zealand's first official space mission— the government contributed $29 million to the satellite, which is primarily funded by a US-based nonprofit. Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA) has published a statement on MethaneSAT's agricultural research programme. The University of Auckland's Mission Operations Control Centre was due to take over mission control. A statement from the university is available here. The SMC asked experts to comment. Associate Professor Nicholas Rattenbury, Department of Physics, University of Auckland, comments: 'MethaneSat is reported to be defunct. This is disappointing, of course, for everyone on the mission development, operations, scientific and engineering teams. Having been in that position personally, I sympathise. That a spacecraft fails on orbit is not surprising. The space environment is unforgiving. Broken things in orbit tend to stay broken. In some cases, workarounds can be found, and the space industry has many examples of extraordinary engineering feats accomplished to bring a stricken spacecraft back towards full functionality. However, it appears that MethaneSat is unrecoverable. Space, as they say in the industry, is hard. 'New Zealand taxpayers gave $29m to MethaneSat. The intended aim was growing the NZ space industry. This would be accomplished through gaining experience in operating a satellite at The University of Auckland's Te Pūnaha Ātea – Space Institute and through research led by a NIWA scientist on how to use MethaneSat to measure agricultural sources of methane. But with this recent announcement it looks like these benefits will be limited, at best. 'Even though it appears that New Zealand was not likely involved in the chain of events leading to the underperformance of MethaneSat, we as investors in the project are entitled to an explanation. 'The technical issues encountered by MethaneSat are not a concern here for NZ – we didn't build MethaneSat. However, there is a question of whether or not we should have taken a closer look 'under the hood' before investing in MethaneSat. The principle of caveat emptor is true for spacecraft as much as it is for purchasing a car. While we were not involved in the MethaneSat mission design, satellite construction and testing, we were certainly entitled to such relevant information so we could make a fully informed decision on whether or not to invest. A question, then: Who on behalf of the NZ taxpayer was asking these and similar questions prior to our investment and how were the answers used in the decision-making process? 'New Zealand has scientists and engineers working at public-funded universities that can contribute to future decision-making processes for the next space mission supported by the New Zealand taxpayer. During the MethaneSat post-mortem, a question that could reasonably be asked is to what extent these experts were consulted during the decision-making process to invest in MethaneSat. What lessons here could be learned to inform the next process through which we as a nation invest in a future space mission? When questions were being asked about the health of MethaneSat, to what extent are we, as investors, happy with the explanation that much information was veiled owing to reported obligations of confidentiality or commercial sensitivity? 'I work towards fostering the New Zealand space sector, especially in the areas where we can push back the boundaries of human knowledge via the safe, peaceful and sustainable use of space. Space is hard, unforgiving, expensive and frustrating. It can also be rewarding, and this is part of the excitement that I see reflected in the students I teach. For a nation with ambitions to utilise space for science, technological development and commercial gain we also have to acknowledge that failure is a part of that journey. To make the best use of our very limited resources, we owe it to ourselves to examine our processes in the fullest light of disclosure and by leveraging all available expertise.' Conflict of interest statement: 'I am not associated with MethaneSAT in any way. These views are not necessarily those held by The University of Auckland.' Professor Richard Easther, Department of Physics, University of Auckland, comments: 'First and foremost, this is a tragedy for the people here who worked hard on it, and for New Zealand science. 'However, it is important to remember that a key justification for us getting involved with MethaneSAT was to 'build capacity' to operate in space as a country and we can still get a return on our investment by learning from this loss. 'I was excited when we got involved in 2019, but MethaneSAT was years late launching and kept pumping out upbeat comms even after it became clear that the spacecraft had major problems. 'As a country we need a 'no blame' review to understand how New Zealand blew past so many red flags about MethaneSAT's operation. Rocket Lab's success creates a remarkable platform for New Zealand to do low-cost, globally significant space missions and our involvement with MethaneSAT has squandered that opportunity. 'However, if the best time to start would have been 2019, the second best is tomorrow – the opportunity is still there. 'But without getting ahead of the post mortem it is clear that we need to make better decisions about strategy and that will only happen if expertise in the science community is fully engaged from the outset.' Conflict of interest statement: Easther is a professor of physics at the University of Auckland but has had no direct involvement with the university contribution to MethaneSAT. He is commenting as an academic engaged with the New Zealand space sector and is not speaking on behalf of the institution. Professor Craig Rodger, Beverly Professor of Physics, University of Otago, comments: Note: Professor Rodger is an expert in solar weather. Are satellites often 'lost'? 'Satellites do go into safe mode and need to be reset. Satellites are also sometimes lost – for example, there is internal damage which triggers them going into safe mode but they never come back and just stop talking to you. But that sort of thing is pretty damn rare. 'When satellite operators talk about 'safe mode', that's usually in the context of impacts triggered by the satellite being bombarded by hot protons and hot electrons. When they are around, it's a tough environment to put your spacecraft in. The thing that surprises me is that the space environment was relatively benign around the 20th of June (when they lost contact with MethaneSAT), and had been for a few weeks. I'm not saying it was dead quiet, but it was sort-of background level conditions – especially for this time in the 11 year solar cycle where the sun is restless in a big way, and when we expect the environment to be a bit challenging.' How can solar weather affect satellites? 'There have been moments when it's been interesting in the last year and a bit, but there have not been extreme conditions in the space environment. In that time there was some unusually cool stuff in terms of the atmosphere – you may have seen the aurora in May or October last year – and also geomagnetic storms. However, that activity wasn't linked to events making a horrible space environment. It's like weather: we aren't talking about something extreme like 'Cyclone Gabrielle', we're talking about normal slightly active conditions where 'some storms have come through'. Typically people build their equipment to handle that. We haven't had something like Cyclone Gabrielle in the space environment for about 20 years, in terms of radiation doses. So it's puzzling, what has happened here with MethaneSAT. Is this a concern for other satellites? 'One thing that has been talked about for a while now is that during the last solar maximum, roughly 11 years ago, it was unusually benign. So if you are a spacecraft engineer who has grown up in an environment where everything is pretty quiet, there's a worry you will build for conditions that have been like that for your entire life. This would ignore the fact that 20 or 30 years ago we made measurements in space that were like 'holy crap what's going on right now?' The satellites back then had bad days, but were well built. The new space industry has developed in very quiet conditions, and now we're moving into more normal times, and if you're not ready for that normal background level of space weather, that's a potential problem. 'But we are not hearing internationally of lots of spacecraft just dropping dead. Maybe some people have got a particularly fascinating design with certain issues and sensitivities, but we are not constantly hearing about how the enhanced solar activity is causing many satellites to have major problems. I'm not saying there's zero issues, we have some, but this isn't an incredible big deal across the world for other satellite operators. 'There are a lot of satellites nowadays made by students in universities as a learning experience – there are a very large number of those which are referred to as 'dead on arrival', or 'DoA'. They never survive launch or don't turn on when they get to orbit. It used to be that more than half of student satellites were 'dead on arrival', but as people get their act together, that number is going down. That issue is linked to a very specific satellite manufacturing sub-environment where you don't have experienced engineers – it's all about learning, whereas I hope that the people who designed MethaneSAT had a lot of knowledge about spacecraft design and the environment it was going into. 'Now, I've never designed a satellite – it would be 'dead on arrival' if I built a satellite. But I do watch the satellite environment and the information from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in the US and so I have an idea of the ranges of activity that occur – what quiet looks like, what disturbed looks like, what 'big arse holy crap' looks like. Conditions have not been really active, but MethaneSAT seems to be having a bad time for quite a while now. 'The other thing that can happen is that you just get unlucky in terms of space environment and you happen to fly through something – your hardware triggers and you go into safe mode. But that's like winning the Lotto. From what we've been told in the media, it sounds like this has happened to MethaneSat multiple times. These guys are apparently being repeatedly unlucky, and that's weird. That would happen if you have something fundamentally wrong with the design of your spacecraft – but it's hard to suggest anything definitive because the information that's been provided, while it uses technical and meaningful words, doesn't give enough detail to link it to what's really been happening.'
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Mosquitos could become a tool for disease control
Pesky blood sucking mosquitoes could turn into power houses of disease control. Auckland University researchers have a million dollars in government funding to investigate whether the insects can be used as a bio security tool by collecting and checking their blood to track disease outbreaks. Professor Jacqueline Beggs from the University of Auckland's Faculty of Science is leading the project and spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
1News
a day ago
- Science
- 1News
Contact lost with $29m climate satellite, likely 'irrecoverable'
Taxpayer-funded climate satellite MethaneSAT has lost contact with the ground and "is likely not recoverable". "While this is difficult news, it is not the end of the overall MethaneSAT effort, or of our work to slash methane emissions," said a statement released by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the US group behind the satellite. MethaneSAT was given $29 million from the New Zealand government, with the aim of growing the space industry. The mission's goal was to name and shame oil and gas producers that were allowing planet-heating methane to escape into the atmosphere. But it has been plagued by delays, first to its launch date and then to the arrival of its promised data about global methane emissions. ADVERTISEMENT The University of Auckland has been waiting to take over the mission control at its new, partly taxpayer-funded Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute. The announcement of the satellite's demise came just two days after the latest deadline for handing control over to university staff and students. RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September. In May, the mission's chief scientist said more intense solar activity because of a peak in the sun's magnetic cycle had been causing MethaneSAT to go into safe mode. The satellite had to be carefully restarted every time. There had also been a problem with one of the satellite's three thrusters, which maintain its altitude and steer the spacecraft. MethaneSAT had said it could operate fully on two thrusters. ADVERTISEMENT The new information helps explain why control of the satellite had to be handed back to its manufacturers in Colorado in March instead of going straight from Rocket Lab to the University of Auckland as planned. The university had said it would still operate the mission control from a delayed start date of June, and staff had been involved in day-to-day tasks ahead of the full hand over. The ability to learn from operating the satellite was a major rationale for the government's investment, after early hopes that it would reveal new information about New Zealand's methane emissions proved incorrect. New Zealand scientists had raised questions about what they saw as a lack of transparency with the New Zealand public about delays to the satellite's data. EDF, the environmental non-profit behind the satellite mission, told RNZ in October that the spacecraft was performing as expected and there were no "notable or particular complications outside the realm of what would be anticipated". But just a few months later, after more questions from RNZ, MethaneSAT announced that control of the satellite had been transferred back to its maker Blue Canyon Technologies so it could fix "challenges". When RNZ previously asked EDF if its response in October had been true, it said the issues were "teething problems" and nothing beyond what was expected. ADVERTISEMENT "MethaneSAT experienced the sort of teething problems that one would encounter with any new mission using a new platform (bus), but nothing outside the bounds of what was to be expected. The expectation was that developing an efficient, well-honed set of operating procedures takes time," it said. MethaneSAT acknowledged in October the process was taking longer than expected, particularly commissioning the thrusters. However it did not disclose the issue with the satellite having to be brought out of safe mode until RNZ asked a list of specific questions. In March, Space Minister Judith Collins was asked about the mission's problems — but told Parliament she could not say because of confidentiality. In February, the government's Space Agency also cited the need for confidentiality when it declined to answer questions from RNZ about what was wrong. University of Auckland astrophysicist Richard Easther was among the critics of the mission's lack of communication about its problems. On Wednesday, he said New Zealand needed a "no blame" review to understand "how New Zealand blew past so many red flags about MethaneSAT's operation". ADVERTISEMENT "This is a tragedy for the people here who worked hard on it, and for New Zealand science." He said the mission "kept pumping out upbeat comms even after it became apparent that the spacecraft had major problems which in many cases appear to have been present since launch." Full statement from EDF on the loss of MethaneSAT "On Friday, June 20, the MethaneSAT mission operations lost contact with MethaneSAT. "After pursuing all options to restore communications, we learned this morning that the satellite has lost power, and that it is likely not recoverable. "While this is difficult news, it is not the end of the overall MethaneSAT effort, or of our work to slash methane emissions. "Launched in March 2024, MethaneSAT had been collecting methane emissions data over the past year. It was one of the most advanced methane tracking satellites in space, measuring methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions across the world. ADVERTISEMENT "The mission has been a remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment, and for its lasting influence on both industry and regulators worldwide. "The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication. This is expected to take time. We will share what we learn. "Thanks to MethaneSAT, we have gained critical insight about the distribution and volume of methane being released from oil and gas production areas. "We have also developed an unprecedented capability to interpret the measurements from space and translate them into volumes of methane released. "This capacity will be valuable to other missions. "EDF and MethaneSAT remain firmly committed to our core purpose of turning data into action to protect the climate including reducing methane emissions from the global oil and gas industry. "The advanced spectrometers developed specifically for MethaneSAT met or exceeded all expectations throughout the mission. In combination with the mission algorithms and software, we showed that the highly sensitive instrument could see total methane emissions, even at low levels, over wide areas, including both large sources (super emitters) and the smaller ones that account for a large share of total methane emissions, which were not visible from space until MethaneSAT. ADVERTISEMENT "EDF and MethaneSAT remain firmly committed to our core purpose of turning data into action to protect the climate, including reducing methane emissions from the global oil and gas industry. "We will be working with partners around the world to leverage the algorithms and associated software as well as the now-proven high precision technology that was developed as part of the MethaneSAT mission so the world has access to high quality actionable greenhouse gas emissions data on a global basis. "We will continue to process data that we have retrieved from the satellite and will be releasing additional scenes of global oil and gas production region-scale emissions over the coming months. "To solve the climate challenge requires bold action and risk-taking and this satellite was at the leading edge of science, technology and advocacy. "We also will continue to work closely with our partners to reduce methane emissions and implement the goals of the Global Methane Pledge, The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, the United Nations Environment Programme's International Emissions Observatory and Climate and Clean Air Coalition, and so many other efforts this mission was designed to support."
