About us

OpenInquiry.nz was established to promote reasoned debate on issues of current societal relevance.

We provide a forum for contributors to present ideas and analyses in the spirit of open inquiry: to investigate ‘any issue that presents itself’ using the tools of reason and evidence. See our list of authors here.

Our intention is to promote rational, good-faith dialogue that does not engage in, or tolerate, ad hominem attacks. We believe that knowledge advances through debate and discussion, not the suppression of ideas. This holds even if particular ideas are held to be offensive, unwelcome or harmful.

No idea or argument is beyond critical scrutiny. Ideas that are flawed or otherwise objectionable are best exposed through reasoned debate, rather than denunciation.

We share a commitment to the values of open inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge, while recognizing that values and ideas will often come into conflict.

Individual contributors take responsibility for their own contributions to this website. In line with the ‘Chicago Principles’ of free speech, we do not tolerate writing that ‘defames a specific individual, that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, that unjustifiably invades substantial privacy or confidentiality interests’.

Anthony Poole

Anthony is a scientist interested in the evolution of molecules, genomes and cells. He holds a PhD in molecular bioscience and has worked and studied in New Zealand, Japan and Sweden.

Brian Boyd

Brian Boyd, Distinguished Professor of English, University of Auckland, has long worked at the intersection of the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. He has written much on novelist and scientist Vladimir Nabokov, taught a Literature and Science course, pioneered the study of literature and art in the light of evolution, and is working on a biography of philosopher of science Karl Popper. He has written on language, storytelling, religion, reason and science, and on art around the world and literature in many languages.

Elizabeth Rata

Professor Elizabeth Rata is a sociologist of education at the University of Auckland. Her research interests include education and democracy, curriculum knowledge, and ethnic politics with a focus on the emergence of neotribal capitalist elites. She was a founding member of kura kaupapa Māori.

Garth Cooper

Professor Garth Cooper is one of New Zealand’s foremost biological scientists and biotechnology entrepreneurs.

James Kierstead

James Kierstead is a Research Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative and former Senior Lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington. Together with Michael Johnston he co-hosts Free Kiwis!, a podcast dedicated to issues to do with freedom and free speech in a New Zealand context. He tweets @Kleisthenes2

Melissa Derby

Dr Melissa Derby is a Senior Lecturer whose research focuses primarily on early literacy development. She also has an interest in Maori education.

Michael Johnston

Dr Michael Johnston is a Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative. Dr Johnston held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington from 2011-2022 and was the Associate Dean (Academic) in the University’s Faculty of Education from 2020 to 2022. Prior to his time at Victoria, he was the Senior Statistician at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. Dr Johnston holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne.

Natasha Hamilton-Hart

Natasha Hamilton-Hart has a PhD in Government from Cornell University and a BA (Hons) from the University of Otago. She publishes in the field of political economy, with a focus on state and private sector institutions, property rights and business-government relations.