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Showing posts from August, 2021

The Overseer Files

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Just before we all suddenly returned  to  a snap lockdown, and excellent use of scientific models to manage New Zealand COVID  response, we were wading through a much less rosy review of one of Aotearoa's most important scientific models - used for farm nutrient management and water quality regulation. I had prepared some comments at the Science Media Centre's (SMC) request for Expert Reaction as an Environmental Scientist and as President of the NZ Association of Scientists . Neither they nor science correspondents in the media have time for a deep dive into the topic at the moment so I'm filing my comments here for discussion. An MPI-commissioned  peer review report  has concluded that key aspects of the Overseer model used for water quality regulation are not fit for purpose. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) has  described  the report as “devastating”, while those responsible for the model defend it to users.  The contrast confirms an undesirable