The Harvard Crimson reports:

Harvard students pushed back forcefully against a new University report condemning grade inflation, arguing that it misrepresented their academic experience and would add pressure to an already demanding campus environment.

The 25-page report, released Monday by the Office of Undergraduate Education, suggested that Harvard’s grading system had become so lenient that it no longer meaningfully distinguished between students. It warned that current practices were “failing to perform the key functions of grading” and were “damaging the academic culture of the College.”

Sounds like a very useful report.

Sophie Chumburidze ’29 said the report felt dismissive of students’ hard work and academic struggles.

“The whole entire day, I was crying,” she said. “I skipped classes on Monday, and I was just sobbing in bed because I felt like I try so hard in my classes, and my grades aren’t even the best.”

“It just felt soul-crushing,” she added.

She spent the entire day sobbing in bed, because of a report about grade inflation.

You would think this is a parody, but sadly it isn’t.

The Waitangi Tribunal has officially recommended that New Zealand have tow standards of citizenship – superior and inferior. This would be based on ancestry.

They recommend:

extend citizenship by descent to two generations for Māori 

You can have a good faith debate about whether citizenship by descent should be for one generation or two generations. But it must be the same for all citizens.

However the Waitangi Tribunal has said that New Zealand citizens with a Maori ancestor should have a superior type of citizenship to those without a Maori ancestor. This is repugnant.

FTI Consulting have done their annual report on what proportion of tobacco in NZ comes from the black market. They use both a survey of users, and also a survey of empty packs to get scientifically robust estimates.

Their key findings are:

• 27% of tobacco is now black market
• Contraband tobacco has increased 41% since 2023
• The black market has resulted in $600 million less revenue for the Government
• Last year legal tobacco sales dropped 6.7% and illegal sales increased 13%

Again this is a very useful reminder that if you increase taxation on a product too high, you turbocharge the black market.

Te Pati Maori has expelled Tākuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. I can’;’t recall if any party has ever before expelled two MPs at once, let alone a third of their caucus.

What is also unusual is there appears to have been no due process where they get to argue in their defence.

They will now sit as Independent MPs in Parliament. It is not yet known if TPM will try and expel them from Parliament. That would need the support of all four remaining TPM MPs (it needs two thirds majority of their original caucus). If they proceed down that route, then there would be by-elections in Te Tai Tokerau and Te Tai Tonga.

Once again I remind people that not a single poll since the last election shows Labour could form Government without the support of Te Pati Maori.

At Patreon (paywalled) I have gone through six months of polls, to analyse which parties Maori New Zealanders say they are planning to vote for.

I haven’t done this just on the basis of ethnic identity, but also on the basis of Maori whakapapa (a New Zealanders with at least one Maori ancestor). There is a very significant difference between all those who are whakapapa Maori and those whose primary ethnic identity is Maori.

I conclude saying:

Media should be very careful, in my opinion, when they try to portray Maori as having a singular viewpoint. 30% of whakapapa Maori support government parties, and only 1 in 6 say they will vote for Te Pati Maori.

The BBC Director-General and head of news have resigned in the wake of allegations about editing footage of US President Donald Trump.

Editing can sometimes lead to footage which is misleading. The key question in this case was whether the outcome was accidental or deliberate. The fact the two top executives have resigned, suggest it may be the latter.

Radio NZ reports:

Former Green MP Kevin Hague is returning to politics to be the party’s new chief of staff.

In a social media post on Thursday, Hague said he was coming “out of retirement” to take up the role after Eliza Prestidge-Oldfield stepped down.

Hague said his home would remain on the West Coast, but he would also be setting up a “second base” in the capital.

“Got any furniture you want to sell? I will pick up the reins in a couple of weeks.”

Hague entered Parliament as a list MP in 2008. Despite being considered a frontrunner for the party’s co-leadership in 2015, he was beaten by James Shaw.

Hague left a year later to become the chief executive of environmental organisation Forest and Bird.

I know Kevin reasonably well. I worked with him on the same sex marriage law change, and friends like Nikki Kaye worked very closely with him on adoption law reform.

Kevin is a smart politically – he understands both strategy and tactics. He is also experienced at working with people from across the political spectrum. All very good attributes for a Chief of Staff.

I predict the turnover of Green staffers will now end.

Young people need a mix of extrinsic motivators and support for their intrinsic motivation.

I have been working with a range of high schools to improve the outcomes of their senior students.

We only have approx. 460 high schools in NZ and simple goal setting is a HUGE opportunity being missed by the Minister and Ministry.

Often schools are very limited rewards for hard-working students and treat academics like it is a sport when only 3 people can be on the podium.

One suggestion I made to Te Aroha College – with a very aspiration Principal in Neil Harray – was a “Scholars Award” of $1,000 for however meets set Year 13 criteria.

This is what he spoke about, at their prizegiving, on the impact so far:

“Tonight we will announce something new for some of our Year 13 school leavers. Last year we used an [absolutely brilliant] external consultant to help us review our achievement and leavers data. As a result of that feedback, we have tried to do something a little different, to lift attendance, engagement and retention rates. This year we introduced a graduate profile across all levels of the school. This is a set of descriptors and expectations that identify how our students connect and contribute to school life.

As you will see, some of our students do amazing things. It is hard to recognise everyone. However we wanted a way to acknowledge those students that have made a difference, have contributed to school life, have set themselves a challenge and have achieved those goals, have great attendance, achieved academically and basically just been a darn great all round student.

So it is with great pleasure that we will present the first ever Te Aroha College Scholars Award.

This award will go to 12 students and they will each receive $1000. These are school funds that have been generated from our International Student programme and put aside for these awards.

These 12 students had to provide 32 pieces of evidence.  22 “must do’s” and 10 individual personal and aspirational goals.

While we want this to be challenging and aspirational for our students, we believe every student in Year 13 will have the opportunity to get this award. As with any new initiative, there have been some teething problems. However, these 12 students have worked hard and set the standard for the years to come.

Imagine in a few years’ time, having close to 100 Year 13 students receiving the Te Aroha College Scholars Award. That is a real possibility, and we have planned for this. We look forward to this year’s current Year 12 students engaging with the graduate profile from the start of the year.”

[email protected]

As scientific institutions become more political, political trust in science inevitably declines. Nature magazine is a great example of this.

In the tweet above, they demanded they wanted more voices of non-Western, non-white men when it comes to “measuring the size of the Milky Way galaxy”.

Law News reports:

The government has ditched retrospective legislation that would have hobbled a multi-million banking class action, accepting a Parliamentary select committee’s advice to back down rather than pursue the controversial change.

Scott Simpson announced the U-turn on Monday after Parliament’s Finance & Expenditure Select Committee outlined its position on the retrospective provisions of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment (CCCFA) Bill.

“Through the select committee process, it was suggested that ongoing court cases be exempt from these provisions. The committee considered this carefully and recommended that approach, and the government parties agree,” Simpson said.

Pleased to see the Government do the right thing. The CCCFA law was a bad law. However it was the law of the land, and ANZ didn’t comply with it, and has to face the legal consequences of that. You don’t retrospectively change the law to kill off a lawsuit that has been active for four years.

Stuff reports:

Labour is promising to make cervical screening free for everyone, if elected, through its previously-announced Medicard scheme.

Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the move would help prevent cancers and avoid costly hospital treatments.

I’ve pulled out the data for deaths by cancer over the last ten years. The numbers are:

• Cervical 518
• Prostate 6,866

Stuff reports:

NZ First leader Winston Peters says the party’s bill that would ban the public sale and use of fireworks would be a bottom line in any future coalition agreement.

This is the issue you pick to be a bottom line? LOL.

The Post reports:

The Government is considering a crackdown on inner-city homelessness.

Rumours of an impending move to criminalise homelessness emerged earlier this week, prompting Opposition MPs to question Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in the House about incoming legislation.

Luxon, on Tuesday, said there were no Cabinet decisions or discussion on the topic of banning people homelessness in central business districts.

But on Wednesday it became clear Government ministers have been considering an intervention, possibly in the form of a “move on” law, to shift problematic behaviour out of city centres, particularly a “bedraggled” Auckland.

Those who choose to sleep on the streets often have intensive drug and/or alcohol problems. There is no easy magic fix that will cure them.

But having them sleep and live in front of businesses in CBDs creates victims. Potential shoppers and staff feel intimidated, especially if asked for money. Some of their behaviour, influenced by drugs and alcohol, is threatening. They cost businesses money and custom, and make people avoid going into city centres.

So giving the Police the power to move those on who have problematic behaviour is a good thing, in my opinion.

The Herald reports:

A naked pensioner was arrested after he was spotted riding through an upmarket Auckland street.

Police were called to Tamaki Drive about 1.40pm today after reports of a naked man riding a bicycle in the area.

A 65-year-old man was arrested for offensive behaviour, police said.

On a local community Facebook page, people said they saw about eight police officers and four police vehicles swarm the area.

Eight police officers and four vehicles – all to apprehend a naked cyclist!

Amazing story at Radio NZ, where they turn the fact that there are heaps fewer kids growing up in motels into a bad news story!

It seems clear that the Tamihere faction wants to expel Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Takuta Ferris from Te Pati Maori, and possibly to also waka jump them from Parliament, causing by-elections.

At first glance they should be able to do this, as you only needs a two thirds majority in caucus to expect MPs under the Electoral Act. So four of of six in favour would qualify.

But there may be another aspect to it, which could be interesting. The criteria for expelling an MP is that:

the parliamentary leader reasonably believes that the member of Parliament concerned has acted in a way that has distorted, and is likely to continue to distort, the proportionality of political party representation in Parliament as determined at the last general election

Now at the 2023 election, Te Pati Maori’s share of the party vote only entitled them to four MPs. They won six electorates so two seats are overhang. You could argue that having two MPs leave Te Pati Maori doesn’t distort the proportionality of Parliament,. but actually enhances it!

Something I have been interested in is trying to get a better understanding of what life was like for Maori in New Zealand before Abel Tasman made contact in 1642. By then Maori had been in New Zealand for around 400 years. Some people dismiss Maori civilisation back then as Stone Age, while others point to the skill (and courage) it took to paddle to NZ in wakas, and other aspects of Maori matauranga.

To try and put things in perspective I asked ChatGPT to list 100 inventions or innovations that occurred in ancient times (before 0 AD). This list itself is quite fascinating. The list is:

1. Control of fire — c. 400,000–200,000 BCE — early hominins (Homo erectus / H. heidelbergensis)
2. Stone tools (Acheulean handaxe tradition) — c. 1,700,000–200,000 BCE — early Homo (Africa, later Eurasia)
3. Oldowan stone tools (simple flakes & cores) — c. 2,600,000–1,700,000 BCE — early Homo (Africa)
4. Clothing (sewn or draped garments) — c. 170,000–50,000 BCE — modern humans (Africa / Eurasia)
5. Language (complex spoken language) — c. 100,000–50,000+ BCE — anatomically modern humans (pan-regional; debated)
6. Controlled use of pigments / body decoration — c. 100,000–60,000 BCE — early modern humans (Africa, Europe)
7. Sewing (bone/antler needles) — c. 40,000–20,000 BCE — Upper Paleolithic cultures (Europe, Siberia)
8. Bow and arrow — c. 70,000–20,000 BCE — Upper Paleolithic / African and Eurasian hunter-gatherers
9. Fishing hooks / nets — c. 40,000–20,000 BCE — coastal/riverine hunter-gatherers (global)
10. Pottery (earliest ceramic vessels) — c. 14,000–10,000 BCE — Jōmon culture (Japan) & other independent early pottery makers
11. Domestication of dogs — c. 20,000–15,000 BCE — Eurasia (multiple origins suggested)
12. Natufian agriculture beginnings (wild cereal cultivation) — c. 12,000–10,500 BCE — Levant (proto-agriculture)
13. Agriculture / systematic farming (Neolithic Revolution) — c. 10,000–8,000 BCE — Fertile Crescent (Levant, Mesopotamia), independently in China, Mesoamerica, Andes, etc.
14. Animal domestication (sheep, goats, cattle, pigs) — c. 10,000–8,000 BCE — Near East and Anatolia (and independently elsewhere)
15. Permanent settlements / villages — c. 10,000–8,000 BCE — Fertile Crescent, Anatolia, East Asia
16. Masonry / dry-stone construction — c. 9,000–7,000 BCE — Near East (e.g., Jericho), Anatolia (Çatalhöyük)
17. Plough (early ard ploughs / digging sticks) — c. 6,000–4,000 BCE — Near East, later Europe and Asia
18. Irrigation systems — c. 6,000–5,000 BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley (early forms)
19. Wheel (potter’s wheel) — c. 5,500–4,000 BCE — Mesopotamia (wheel for pottery precedes vehicle wheel)
20. Vehicle wheels / wheeled carts — c. 3500–3000 BCE — Mesopotamia / Northern Eurasian steppe (Sumerian/Southwest Asia)
21. Sail (sailing boats) — c. 4000–3000 BCE — Mesopotamia / Persian Gulf / Nile (early reed-boat sails)
22. Bronze metallurgy (smelting copper + tin alloys) — c. 3300–3000 BCE — Near East (Sumer, Anatolia) — start of Bronze Age
23. Metallurgy: copper smelting / working — c. 7000–5000 BCE — Anatolia, Balkans, Near East
24. Writing — cuneiform — c. 3400–3000 BCE — Sumer (southern Mesopotamia)
25. Hieroglyphic writing — c. 3200–3000 BCE — Ancient Egypt
26. Urbanism / first cities (state-level societies) — c. 3500–3000 BCE — Sumer (Uruk), Indus (Harappa), Egypt (Memphis)
27. Standardized weights and measures — c. 3000–2500 BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley
28. Legal codes (early laws & administration) — c. 2100–1800 BCE — Sumeria (proto-laws), later Hammurabi’s Code (c. 1754 BCE, Babylon)
29. Currency / commodity money (silver rings, weighed metals) — c. 2500–2000 BCE — Mesopotamia / Near East (and other barter systems)
30. Sewage/drainage & urban sanitation — c. 2600–1900 BCE — Indus Valley (Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro)
31. Stone masonry with dressed blocks (ashlar) — c. 2600–2500 BCE — Egypt (pyramids), also in the Levant and Anatolia
32. Pyramid construction and large-scale stone monuments — c. 2700–2500 BCE — Egypt (Old Kingdom)
33. Papyrus (writing material) — c. 3000–2500 BCE — Ancient Egypt (riverine Papyrus manufacture)
34. Sundial / shadow clocks (timekeeping by sun) — c. 1500–1000 BCE — Egypt / Babylonian regions (early timekeeping devices)
35. Water clock (clepsydra) — c. 1600–1400 BCE — Egypt, later Babylon and Greece
36. Glassmaking (early beads & glass objects) — c. 3500–2000 BCE — Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt (early glass)
37. Alphabetic proto-writing (Proto-Sinaitic / early alphabet) — c. 1800–1500 BCE — Sinai / Canaan (precursor to Phoenician alphabet)
38. Phoenician alphabet (basis of modern alphabets) — c. 1200–1050 BCE — Levant (Phoenicia)
39. Iron smelting (beginning of Iron Age) — c. 1200–1000 BCE — Anatolia / Near East (earlier bloomery techniques)
40. Cast iron / early high-temperature ironworking (China) — c. 5th–3rd century BCE (widespread later) — China (early ironworking innovations)
41. Horse domestication and chariotry — c. 2000–1700 BCE — Eurasian steppe / Near East (Indo-Europeans, Hittites, Egyptians adapt chariots)
42. Wheelbarrow (earliest evidence — China) — disputed early forms; commonly attributed later, but some scholarship points to very early single-wheel transports in China — c. 4th–1st century BCE — China (early forms)
43. Seaworthy keel and hull improvements (shipbuilding advances) — c. 2000–1000 BCE — Mediterranean civilizations (Phoenicians, Greeks)
44. Alchemy precursor techniques (calcination, distillation beginnings) — c. 3000–1000 BCE — Egypt, Mesopotamia (early chemical techniques)
45. Paper precursor: papyrus / birch-bark / bamboo slips — c. 3000–500 BCE — Egypt (papyrus), South Asia (birch bark), China (bamboo slips)
46. Calendar systems (lunisolar & solar calendars) — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Egypt (solar calendar), Mesopotamia (lunar/ lunisolar), Mesoamerica (later)
47. Astronomy (systematic star charts, planetary observations) — c. 2000–1000 BCE — Babylonian astronomers; also China, India, Maya later
48. Mathematics: positional number systems & arithmetic tables — c. 2000–1500 BCE — Mesopotamia (base-60 sexagesimal), Egypt (hieratic math)
49. Geometry for surveying & construction — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Egypt (land survey after Nile floods), Mesopotamia
50. Surgical instruments & basic surgery (trepanation, wound care) — c. 3000–1500 BCE — Egypt, Indus Valley, Andean cultures (trepanation evidence worldwide)
51. Brewing beer / fermented beverages — c. 7000–4000 BCE — China (neolithic sites), Mesopotamia, Egypt (early large-scale brewing)
52. Leavened bread & advanced baking — c. 4000–3000 BCE — Egypt (baking / ovens)
53. Domesticated rice cultivation — c. 8000–5000 BCE — Yangtze River valley, China (also independently in SE Asia)
54. Silk production (sericulture) — c. 3500–2700 BCE (legendary dates) — Neolithic China (Yangshao / early Chinese cultures)
55. Iron ploughshare improvements — c. 700–400 BCE — China and Mediterranean (iron-tipped ploughs)
56. Coinage (minted coins) — c. 7th–6th century BCE — Lydia (western Anatolia), later Greece and Persia
57. Alphabetic writing transmission to Greeks (Greek alphabet) — c. 8th century BCE — Greece (adoption/adaptation of Phoenician script)
58. Acoustic architecture / amphitheatre design (sound-amplifying buildings) — c. 6th–4th century BCE — Greece (theatres)
59. Concrete-like mortars (early hydraulic cements) — c. 3rd–2nd millennium BCE — Near East; Roman concrete proper is after 0 AD but earlier cements existed (e.g., bitumen mortars)
60. Road engineering / paved roads (planned routes) — c. 3rd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Mesopotamia, later advanced by Roman Republic (post-0 AD major expansion) but early major roads in Neo-Assyrian / Persian empires predate 0 AD in parts
61. Postal relay / mounted courier systems (early forms) — c. 6th–5th century BCE — Persian Empire (Royal Road improvements), earlier local systems in China and Assyria
62. Crossbow (early Chinese trigger-based weapons) — c. 5th–4th century BCE — China (Chu state / Warring States developments)
63. Casting (lost-wax bronze casting for statues & tools) — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Indus Valley, Mesopotamia, Egypt (and later widespread)
64. Mass textile production (spinning wheels are later) — warp-weighted looms — c. 4000–2000 BCE — Near East, Europe, China (early weaving technologies)
65. Glassblowing is later; but beadmaking & core-formed glass — c. 2000–1500 BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt (early glass objects)
66. Roadway surveying & civil engineering (arches, bridges, causeways precede Romans) — c. 2nd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Mesopotamia, Persia, India, China (early bridge building)
67. Stirrup — (note: true stirrup appears later; early foot-loop devices existed) — true closed stirrup invention is post-0 AD (so exclude definite stirrup). I will instead list: saddles / riding equipment improvements — c. 2nd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Near East / steppe cultures
68. Decimal and numeration developments (e.g., Brahmi numerals precursors) — c. 3rd–1st century BCE — India (Brahmi script and numeral concepts)
69. Surgical anesthesia precursors (opium, mandrake, herbal sedatives) — c. 3rd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China (herbal pharmacopeias)
70. Concrete domes and corbeling (early roofing techniques) — c. 3rd millennium–1000 BCE — Near East, Mycenaean tholos tombs (Greece)
71. Harp / lyre / stringed instruments (musical instrument development) — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Sumer, Egypt (early stringed instruments)
72. Spherical / nautical navigation knowledge (coastal navigation, star navigation) — c. 2000–1000 BCE — Polynesia (later expansion), Mediterranean mariners (Phoenicians, Greeks)
73. Paper-like record systems: wax tablets & codices (wood/bone tablets, waxed boards) — c. 2nd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Mesopotamia, Mediterranean, China (bamboo slips)
74. Acupuncture / early traditional medical systems (China) — c. 2nd millennium–1st millennium BCE (practical roots), documented later — China
75. Rudder (stern post rudder precursor — true sternpost rudder is later, but steering oar in use) — steering oar — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Egypt, Mediterranean (longstanding steering oars)
76. Mechanical automata precursors (simple mechanical devices & clocks) — c. 3rd–2nd century BCE — Hellenistic world (Hero of Alexandria later makes complex devices ~1st century BCE/AD) — early simple automata and mechanical principles in use earlier
77. Concrete/ cement road paving in Mesopotamia/Egypt — early paving & bitumen application — c. 3rd–2nd millennium BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt
78. Sophisticated shipbuilding: multi-deck / long-distance ships (Phoenicians) — c. 1200–800 BCE — Phoenicia (Mediterranean seafaring)
79. Central heating precursor: hypocaust (earlier forms in Anatolia / Greece precede Roman widespread use) — c. 8th–4th century BCE — Anatolia, Greece (some evidence of early heating); Romans later perfect hypocaust after 0 AD
80. Tally sticks / accounting systems — c. 5th–3rd millennium BCE — Mesopotamia (token systems that became writing)
81. Glass mirrors (metal-backed glass / polished metal mirrors) — c. 4000–2000 BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt (polished bronze mirrors)
82. Sluices, dams & basic hydraulic engineering — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt (canals, dams)
83. Horse harness: bit, breastplate, early harness improvements — c. 2nd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Near East / steppe cultures (improved horse harnessing for chariots and riding)
84. Compound bow (powerful laminated bows) — c. 2nd millennium–1st millennium BCE — Central Asian steppes (Scythians), Near East (composite bows)
85. Mosaic art & tessellation techniques — c. 2000–1000 BCE — Mesopotamia, Aegean, later Greek cities (advanced mosaics predate Romans)
86. Metallurgical alloys beyond bronze (e.g., arsenical bronze) — c. 4000–3000 BCE — Near East (arsenical bronze preceding tin bronze in some areas)
87. Mechanical screw (Archimedes’ screw — water lifting) — c. 3rd century BCE — Hellenistic Egypt/Greece (Archimedes credited)
88. Demonstrable geometry/theorems (formal Greek geometry) — c. 6th–3rd century BCE — Greek mathematicians (Thales, Pythagoras, Euclid later compile)
89. Steam-powered device (aeolipile precursor concepts) — Hero of Alexandria — c. 1st century BCE–1st century CE (Hero’s work straddles 0 AD; some devices attributed to 1st century AD) — Hellenistic Egyptian/Greek engineering (note: many devices are around 1st century AD — still I include basic steam experiment roots in Hellenistic period)
90. Public baths / organized bathing culture (large bathhouses) — c. 2000–500 BCE — Indus Valley (planned bathrooms), later Greek/Hellenistic public baths
91. Ink (carbon and plant-based inks for writing) — c. 3000–2000 BCE — Egypt (carbon inks), China (early inks later refined)
92. Bronze mirrors and polishing techniques — c. 3000–2000 BCE — China, Mesopotamia, Egypt
93. Kiln technology for high-temperature firing (pottery & bricks) — c. 6000–3000 BCE — Near East, China (advanced kilns by Neolithic/Chalcolithic times)
94. Bricks (sun-dried & fired bricks) and standardized brickmaking — c. 7000–3500 BCE — Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, Egypt
95. Urban planning & grid city design (e.g., Mohenjo-Daro) — c. 2600–1900 BCE — Indus Valley Civilization (planned streets, drainage)
96. Stone working: polished axes, adzes (Neolithic polishing) — c. 7000–4000 BCE — Neolithic cultures worldwide (Europe, Asia)
97. Basketry and woven containers — c. 15,000–8000 BCE — global hunter-gatherer cultures (many origins)
98. Composite materials in construction: bitumen mortars, plasters — c. 4th–3rd millennium BCE — Mesopotamia, Egypt (bitumen used for waterproofing and mortars)
99. Cultural systems of education & schools (scribal schools) — c. 3rd millennium–2nd millennium BCE — Sumer, Egypt (temple/scribal schools)
100. Ceremonial & organized religion structures (temples, priesthood administration) — c. 10,000–3000 BCE (formalized by 4th–3rd millennium BCE) — early complex societies (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Mesoamerica later)

It’s fascinating how ancient so many of these inventions or innovations are.

I then asked it to assess which of these were known to exist in Maori civilisation before Abel Tasman. Now this is ChatGPT so it may have some stuff wrong. But again very interesting to see in one list what was and wasn’t present.

1. Control of fire — Yes. Fire used for cooking, warmth, craft.
2. Stone tools (Acheulean handaxe tradition) — No (not that tradition). Māori used sophisticated Polynesian-style stone tools (adzes etc.), but Acheulean is palaeolithic African technology not relevant.
3. Oldowan stone tools — No. (Deep Palaeolithic categories don’t apply; Māori used later Polynesian stone tool traditions.)
4. Clothing (sewn or draped garments) — Yes. Cloaks (korowai) and garments made from harakeke (flax) and other fibres. Te Ara
5. Language (complex spoken language) — Yes. Fully developed Polynesian language (te reo Māori).
6. Controlled use of pigments / body decoration — Yes. Body paint (e.g., kiwi oil, pigments) and tattooing (tā moko). Te Ara
7. Sewing (bone/antler needles) — Yes. Flax fibres were prepared and sewn/whatu techniques used (bone awls/tools for weaving). Te Ara
8. Bow and arrow — No. Māori did not use bows and arrows pre-contact; hand-to-hand weapons dominated. Te Ara
9. Fishing hooks / nets — Yes. Kupenga (nets), matau (hooks), hīnaki (eel traps), weirs and pots were widely used. Te Ara
10. Pottery (earliest ceramic vessels) — No. Māori did not manufacture pottery in New Zealand (Lapita pottery existed earlier in Polynesia but the craft was lost before NZ settlement). Te Ara
11. Domestication of dogs — Yes (introduced). Polynesian dogs (kurī) were brought to New Zealand by ancestors of Māori (they were present historically). Te Ara
12. Natufian agriculture beginnings (wild cereal cultivation) — No. (Specific Near East development; not in Māori pre-contact context.)
13. Agriculture / systematic farming (Neolithic Revolution) — Partial / different form. Māori practiced horticulture (particularly kūmara and other Polynesian crops) but not “Neolithic revolution” of the Fertile Crescent. Kūmara cultivation was a full horticultural system. Te Ara
14. Animal domestication (sheep, goats, cattle, pigs) — No (these Old World domesticates were not present). Māori had kurī (dog) and kiore (Polynesian rat) introduced by ancestors; no domesticated ungulates pre-contact. Te Ara
15. Permanent settlements / villages — Yes. Māori lived in permanent/seasonal settlements including pā (fortified villages). Wikipedia
16. Masonry / dry-stone construction — Mostly No. Māori built earthworks (pā), terraces and stone fish-traps in places, but not large ashlar masonry like Old World civilizations. (Some stonework used for terraces, storage and fish-traps.) Facebook
17. Plough (early ard ploughs / digging sticks) — No ploughs; planting used digging sticks (kopi/rau) and mounding methods for kūmara.
18. Irrigation systems — No large irrigation networks; Māori horticulture used local gardening techniques (mounds, pits) rather than large engineered irrigation.
19. Wheel (potter’s wheel) — No. Māori did not use wheels or wheeled vehicles pre-contact. (Transport was by waka/canoe and on foot.) Te Ara
20. Vehicle wheels / wheeled carts — No. (See #19.)
21. Sail (sailing boats) — Yes. Waka were sailed; Polynesian ancestors developed oceangoing sailing canoes/waka. Te Ara
22. Bronze metallurgy (copper+tin alloys) — No. Māori did not practice smelting or metallurgy; worked stone, bone, shell and pounamu (greenstone) instead. Te Ara
23. Metallurgy: copper smelting / working — No. (See #22.)
24. Writing — cuneiform — No. Māori used rich oral traditions; there was no indigenous writing system in NZ pre-contact. Te Ara
25. Hieroglyphic writing — No. (Same as #24.)
26. Urbanism / first cities (state-level societies) — No. Māori had organized tribal societies and fortified pā but not cities on the Old World model. Wikipedia
27. Standardized weights and measures — No formal minted system. Māori used customary measures and exchange (trade mechanisms), not standardized metal weights.
28. Legal codes (early laws & administration) — Functionally Yes (customary law). Māori had tikanga and customary law enforced by rangatira/tohunga — not written codified law.
29. Currency / commodity money (weighed metals) — No minted currency. Exchange used items of value (pounamu, feathers, food, service); trade and gifting systems (reciprocity).
30. Sewage/drainage & urban sanitation — No large infrastructural sewage systems. Māori settlements used hygienic practices appropriate to their settlements; some drainage/earthworks at pā.
31. Stone masonry with dressed blocks (ashlar) — No. (See #16.)
32. Pyramid construction and large-scale stone monuments — No. (No pyramids; monumental carved whare (meeting houses) and earthworks/pā existed.)
33. Papyrus (writing material) — No. (No papyrus; information recorded orally and on carvings, weaving, and other material culture.)
34. Sundial / shadow clocks (timekeeping by sun) — No formal sundials; Māori tracked time by natural cycles (tide, moon phases, stars, seasons).
35. Water clock (clepsydra) — No.
36. Glassmaking (early beads & glass objects) — No glass manufacture. (Glass introduced later by Europeans; Māori used shell, bone, stone, obsidian/ Tūhua and pounamu.) Te Ara
37. Alphabetic proto-writing — No. (See #24.)
38. Phoenician alphabet (basis of modern alphabets) — No.
39. Iron smelting (beginning of Iron Age) — No. Māori did not smelt iron; iron arrived after Europeans and quickly adopted. Wikipedia
40. Cast iron / early high-temperature ironworking (China) — No.
41. Horse domestication and chariotry — No. (No horses; Europeans later introduced horses.)
42. Wheelbarrow (early single-wheel transports) — No. (No wheeled devices in pre-contact NZ.)
43. Seaworthy keel and hull improvements (shipbuilding advances) — Yes. Polynesian waka had advanced hull forms and keels suited to Pacific voyaging; Māori built large waka taua. Te Ara+1
44. Alchemy precursor techniques (calcination, distillation beginnings) — No documented alchemical practice;Māori used herbal knowledge and cooking/processing techniques.
45. Paper precursor: papyrus / birch-bark / bamboo slips — No material analogue in NZ; Māori used barkcloth (tapa is an Oceania fabric but not widespread in NZ), carvings and woven panels for record/knowledge, and oral transmission.
46. Calendar systems (lunisolar & solar calendars) — Yes (timekeeping by moon/tide/season). Māori had calendrical knowledge tied to lunar months and seasonal cycles (maramataka).
47. Astronomy (systematic star charts, planetary observations) — Yes. Polynesian navigation and star knowledge were highly developed and used for voyaging. Te Ara
48. Mathematics: positional number systems & arithmetic tables — No formal written number systems; complex practical counting and measurement systems existed orally.
49. Geometry for surveying & construction — Yes (practical geometry). Skilled earthworks, terraces, and wharenui measurements show applied geometry.
50. Surgical instruments & basic surgery (trepanation, wound care) — Yes (herbal medicine & surgical practice).Māori had tohunga rongoā and practised healing techniques and surgery (traditional remedies and practices).
51. Brewing beer / fermented beverages — No brewing of cereal beers; fermented products were not a major part of Māori diet (some fermentation of plant foods may have occurred).
52. Leavened bread & advanced baking — No. Māori cooking used roasting, steaming in hangi; no bread baking tradition pre-contact.
53. Domesticated rice cultivation — No. (Rice is Old World; not present.)
54. Silk production (sericulture) — No. (Silk not produced in NZ.)
55. Iron ploughshare improvements — No iron/metal ploughs. Gardening used hand tools and digging sticks.
56. Coinage (minted coins) — No. (See #29.)
57. Alphabetic writing transmission to Greeks (Greek alphabet) — No.
58. Acoustic architecture / amphitheatre design — No formal amphitheatres; Māori used meeting houses and natural amphitheatres for performance.
59. Concrete-like mortars (early hydraulic cements) — No. (No large cement technology.)
60. Road engineering / paved roads (planned routes) — No wheeled-road networks; there were well-worn paths and trackways; waka and waterways were primary transport. Te Ara
61. Postal relay / mounted courier systems — No mounted couriers (no horses); messages and trade moved by foot and waka over established routes.
62. Crossbow (early Chinese trigger-based weapons) — No.
63. Casting (lost-wax bronze casting for statues & tools) — No bronze casting. Māori carved and shaped stone, bone and wood — no metal casting.
64. Mass textile production (warp-weighted looms) — No looms; weaving done by finger-weaving and other hand methods using muka from harakeke. Te Ara
65. Glassblowing — No. (Glass not produced.)
66. Roadway surveying & civil engineering (arches, bridges) — Limited. Māori constructed causeways, bridges and pā earthworks but not large stone arches; local engineering adapted to landscape.
67. Stirrup / true stirrup — No. (No horses or stirrups.)
68. Decimal and numeration developments (e.g., Brahmi numerals precursors) — No written numerals; oral counting systems served needs.
69. Surgical anaesthesia precursors (opium, mandrake, herbal sedatives) — Yes (herbal sedatives/rongoā). Māori used plant-based medicines and rituals in healing.
70. Concrete domes and corbeling (early roofing techniques) — No. (Roofs of whare built with timber and thatch; corbelled stone tombs not a feature.)
71. Harp / lyre / stringed instruments — Limited. Māori had musical instruments (flutes, conch, pūtātara/trumpets, percussion); stringed instruments were not a prominent pre-contact technology.
72. Spherical / nautical navigation knowledge (star navigation) — Yes. Polynesian navigation traditions carried to New Zealand; celestial and ocean knowledge used. Te Ara
73. Paper-like record systems: wax tablets & codices — No. (Oral tradition & carvings instead.)
74. Acupuncture / early traditional medical systems (China) — No Chinese acupuncture; Māori had rongoā (traditional Māori medicine).
75. Rudder (steering oar) — Yes (steering oar). Waka used steering oars and paddles. Te Ara
76. Mechanical automata precursors — No. (No documented mechanical automata.)
77. Concrete/ cement road paving in Mesopotamia/Egypt — No.
78. Sophisticated shipbuilding: multi-deck / long-distance ships (Phoenicians) — Yes (ocean-going waka). Polynesian voyaging canoes were highly developed for long-distance travel. Te Ara
79. Central heating precursor: hypocaust — No. (No hypocaust systems.)
80. Tally sticks / accounting systems — Yes (oral & mnemonic systems). Resource rights and obligations were recorded orally and by physical tokens in some Pacific contexts; Māori used oral record and material culture for accounting.
81. Glass mirrors (metal-backed glass / polished metal mirrors) — No. Polished shells and polished pounamu/stone used as reflective surfaces in some contexts.
82. Sluices, dams & basic hydraulic engineering — Some small scale water management (e.g., eel traps, weirs and freshwater resource management) — Yes in specific contexts. Te Ara
83. Horse harness: bit, breastplate, early harness improvements — No. (No horses.)
84. Compound bow (laminated bows) — No. (See #8.)
85. Mosaic art & tessellation techniques — No true stone mosaic tradition; decorative carving and patterned weaving were prominent.
86. Metallurgical alloys beyond bronze (arsenical bronze) — No. (No smelting.)
87. Mechanical screw (Archimedes’ screw) — No.
88. Demonstrable geometry/theorems (formal Greek geometry) — No formal written geometry; practical geometric knowledge existed.
89. Steam-powered device (aeolipile precursor concepts) — No.
90. Public baths / organized bathing culture — Some communal bathing in streams/hot pools — Yes culturally, but not structured Roman-style baths.
91. Ink (carbon and plant-based inks for writing) — No writing system; pigments were used for painting and tattooing. Te Ara
92. Bronze mirrors and polishing techniques — No metal mirrors; polished stone/shell used.
93. Kiln technology for high-temperature firing (pottery & bricks) — No pottery kilns in NZ (pottery absent). Te Ara
94. Bricks (sun-dried & fired bricks) — No fired brick architecture.
95. Urban planning & grid city design (e.g., Mohenjo-Daro) — No cities on that scale; well-planned pā and villages existed.
96. Stone working: polished axes, adzes (Neolithic polishing) — Yes. Highly developed stone adze production (basalt, pounamu) and polishing traditions. Te Ara+1
97. Basketry and woven containers — Yes. Raranga (weaving) for baskets, mats, ropes, garments from harakeke. Te Ara
98. Composite materials in construction: bitumen mortars, plasters — No widespread use of bitumen mortars;wooden and thatch construction predominated.
99. Cultural systems of education & schools (scribal schools) — Yes (oral schools). Tohunga and elder transmission, and training (e.g., navigation, carving, tohunga knowledge) — oral pedagogy rather than scribal schools.
100. Ceremonial & organized religion structures (temples, priesthood administration) — Yes. Marae, waharoa, tohunga/priestly roles and ceremonial practices were central. Wikipedia

So of the 100 historic inventions or innovations, around 26 were present with Maori.

I have just had the privilege of spending a week on Hamilton Island off the north Queensland Coast. It was easy to get to – Auckland-Sydney-Hamilton Island (where 5 significant flights arrive every day).

It is a tiny place – 5km long by 3.5km wide. But the airport hosts planes with up to 300 passengers, the ferry from Airlie Beach is 45 minutes.

The hotels – we stayed at the Reef View – are high quality and very well serviced.

We ate at 10 different venues- every meal and all wait-staff were of high quality.

We took two boat trips. One was to Whitehaven Beach – which was beautiful re the fish life and the Monitor Lizards. The other was an all day adventure to a part of the Great Barrier Reef – where we snorkeled for 4 hours and had a superb time.

As a declaration of interests – I own three, very small, tourism businesses in the Bay of Islands.

My strong opinion is that NZ needs a SUN destination in the same way that Queenstown provides a Winter destination and is also working hard to be an all-year round venue.

The Far North is the poorest part of NZ with appalling education, NEET, employment and social welfare stats. A few rich (and semi-rich) people go to the Bay of Islands, buy some form of property and then try and make sure no one else arrives in paradise.

Here is a summary of what Hamilton Island means to the Queensland and Australian economy.

Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop have done some good work with proposed roading improvements to the Far North.

A much more significant improvement would be to make the Kerikeri Airport fully international and have flights coming in from Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong – every day. In ten years Northland could go from the poorest to the wealthiest NZ province.

Alwyn Poole
[email protected]

Radio NZ reports:

The long-delayed International Convention Centre in Auckland has formally been handed over to SkyCity several years behind schedule.

It marks a major milestone in a project, that when works began in 2015, was supposed to take 38 months.

“We’re delighted to finally have the keys,” SkyCity chief executive Jason Walbridge said.

The convention centre has not just taken extra time, it has also taken extra money.

Here’s the great thing – thanks to Steven Joyce the convention centre delays and cost blowouts have not cost taxpayers a cent. He worked out a deal where the private sector took all the risk.

So Auckland and New Zealand will benefit from having a dedicated convention centre that can attract global conventions – and no billion dollar bill for taxpayers!