Last week, together with the new Australian High Commissioner, Louise Hand, I called on Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) to discuss the joint Australia-New Zealand bid to host the Square Kilometre Array.
What on earth is that, you may ask?
For those of you, who, like me, aren’t scientists, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is the name

In the lead up to Christmas I left Ottawa and was back in New Zealand for 10 days.  I visited Taranaki to see family, Wellington to see friends and go into head office, Palmerston North for a small University Reunion dinner.  It was all good, despite the fact that I managed to coincide most of

I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia a couple of weekends ago to attend the Third Halifax International Security Forum.
I had heard good things about the previous two, and that, along with fora like the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and the Berlin Security Conference, Halifax was becoming one of those “must attend” events for those wanting

I am handing over my blog space for this week to Sarah Ireland, a recently arrived (from Wellington) colleague here in the High Commission.  I will let Sarah give you her own early impressions of Canada.  She has, of course, yet to experience the genuine or more questionable delights of January/February in Ottawa.  It is hard to

There has been some lively debate in the media in Canada over the last couple of weeks, the result of the “Free Your Milk” campaign by the Canadian Restaurant and Food Association (http://freeyourmilk.ca , www.facebook.com/FreeYourMilk ). The campaign has brought to public attention their concerns over the Canadian system of supply management, which, among other

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s most widely distributed daily. It is characterised by itself and many of its readers as Canada’s paper of record. It’s part of my morning news fix, either as a broadsheet or online.  As with many newspapers, it’s the weekend edition that both loads up on stories and gets more readership when we all

It goes without saying that when I have official events at home (the official residence) or here in the High Commission I will showcase New Zealand wine. Lamb is a regular feature and, more recently, green lipped mussels. This all goes down well with our Canadian guests, many of whom are already fans of New

 
With the Rugby World Cup in full swing back home it is hard for New Zealanders to get past anything but rugby at present.  While over the last generation New Zealand has become very much a globally connected and cosmopolitan society, the bottom line is, most of us still love our rugby.  Most are armchair

With web access to so much material these days, you can prep up pretty well before arriving in a new country.  But the reality is that Wikipedia doesn’t give you the humidity count, the traffic noise, the afternoon downpour and thunderstorm or the ride into town from the airport that can often be so illuminating.

 The Rugby World Cup kicked off in New Zealand a few days ago, with almost all New Zealand and several hundred million viewers worldwide taking in the opening ceremony and first game between New Zealand and Tonga.   
Of less direct and immediate interest to the rugby-following public of New Zealand and the world was that,