Meetings are held at the Te Awa Lifecare Woolshed, 1866 Cambridge Road, Cambridge, from 10am for 10.30 until 12.00 noon on the second Friday of each month.
Friday November 14th, 2025 - Dr Adrian Macey - New Zealand as a small state – how do we deal with the big ones?
Adrian Macey is an Adjunct Professor, New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (School of Geography and Earth Sciences), Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies, Nantes, France, where he was resident in 2019.
He previously served in various positions in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in New Zealand, France, Samoa (responsible for Tokelau) and Switzerland. His roles have included Chief Trade Negotiator, ambassador to Thailand and to France, permanent representative to the OECD, and New Zealand’s first climate change ambassador. He was vice-chair, then chair of the United Nations Kyoto Protocol climate change negotiations in 2010-2011.
He has served on a number of GATT and WTO dispute settlement panels, most recently as Chair in a dispute between the European Union and China involving intellectual property.
His research interests include climate change policy, the science-policy connections, international governance, and trade.
******************************************
Title of talk
New Zealand as a small state – how do we deal with the big ones?
One often hears the comment that New Zealand ‘punches above its weight’. This suggest that New Zealand manages to have an influence in the world out of proportion to its size. But is this really so? And to the extent that it may be true, how do we do it?
How we deal with countries which dwarf us in importance is a key to defending our own interests in the world. The talk will focus on New Zealand ’s relations with China, the United States and Europe, both bilaterally (country to country issues like trade) , regionally in the South Pacific, and on the international stage, over global issues like climate change.
Friday December 12th, 2025 - Andrea Leask - Deputy CEO Netsafe - Get set up for safety
Andrea is Netsafe's Deputy CEO and Chief Digital Harms Officer. Andrea and her team provide New Zealand's primary response service to individuals and communities impacted by online harms. They also provide education, support and advice to prevent and deter online harm.
Netsafe is New Zealand's independent, non-profit online safety organization dedicated to helping individuals navigate the digital world safely. Established in 1998, Netsafe has been at the forefront of providing free support, advice, and education to people of all ages across the country. Netsafe collaborates with government agencies, law enforcement, industry partners, academics, and community organizations to promote safe and positive online experiences. Netsafe's services include assisting individuals facing online abuse, scams, or other digital challenges, and offering guidance on a wide range of online safety topics.
Andrea has led transformational initiatives that enhance protections for individuals and communities. From developing and implementing national frameworks to managing high-stakes relationships with government, law enforcement, and global technology firms, Andrea has been instrumental in shaping policy, and industry best practices to reduce digital harm at a systemic level.
A driving force for change, Andrea has successfully influenced regulatory reform, multi-sector collaboration, and cross-border policy initiatives, ensuring that online safety remains a priority in an increasingly complex digital world. Her ability to translate insights into action has led to the development of proactive strategies, crisis response protocols, and victim-centered interventions, helping to minimize harm while empowering individuals and organizations with the tools to navigate online risks.
Balancing strategic leadership, financial stewardship, and operational execution, Andrea ensures that Netsafe remains agile and resilient in the face of evolving threats.
TUESDAY February 10th, 2026 - Eye Surgeons - TBC
TUESDAY March 10th, 2026 - Daniel McGowan - Cure Parkinsons NZ
TUESDAY April 14th, 2026 - Charlotte Stevens - The Real Life of a PI (Private Investigator)
Charlotte joined the Metropolitan Police in London at the age of 19 and, after a short while, became a Detective Constable. She spent 20 years in the Police and her last 10 years specialised in serious crime squads, including the Flying Squad and the Regional Crime Squad, investigating crimes such as armed robberies, kidnappings, and drug importation.
A holiday in New Zealand in April 1999 led to Charlotte moving to NZ, initially for a year, but she loved it so much she never returned to work in the UK. Instead, within 3 weeks of arriving, she had a job as an investigator with the Serious Fraud Office.
This background in Law Enforcement led Charlotte to become a Licensed Private Investigator.
TUESDAY May 12th, 2026 - Lisette Reymer - No I don't get danger money
Tuesday May 26th, 2026 - JOINT PARTNERSHIP HISTORY LECTURE - Christopher Archer & Warren Dawson ( - Recovering a New Zealand ANZAC Legacy – The Story of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade in Egypt and Palestine (1916–1919)
On the eve of WWI in 1914, New Zealand dispatched two brigades to join the Imperial Army—one of Infantry and one of Mounted Horse. After Gallipoli, the infantry was sent to Europe, but the Mounted Brigade remained in Egypt.
Over the next three years, the troopers of the NZMR rode 400 miles across desert and mountain in a campaign that defeated the Ottoman, German, and Austrian forces in a series of victories unmatched in military history. Yet, their extraordinary story was largely forgotten in the aftermath of the war—until, a hundred years later, their legacy began to be recovered.
Christopher Archer, historian and author of Saviours of Zion, and Warren Dawson, who retraced his grandfather’s route in partnership with Israeli historians, will share their insights into this remarkable history. Together, they have also been closely involved with the project to erect a 5-metre Silver Fern memorial in Gan Sorek, Israel, commemorating the New Zealand troopers who fought in Palestine.
Tuesday June 9th, 2026 - Gaurav Sharma - History of settlement of the Indian Community in New Zealand
Tuesday July 14th, 2026 - Jared Savage - Underworld: The evolution of organised crime in NZ.
Jared Savage is an investigative reporter for The New Zealand Herald where he has worked for 20 years.
He has won more than a dozen national and international journalism awards including twice being named as the best reporter in the country.
He covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime, and is also the author of three best-selling books on the criminal underworld.
Jared lives in Tauranga with his wife and two children.
Tuesday August 11th, 2026 - Dr Rajesh Nair - Head of Department Cardiology - Waikato Hospital - TBC
J
Tuesday August 25th, 2026 - - JOINT PARTNERSHIP HISTORY LECTURE -Dr James Goodrich - Odontology and a Marine: The Battle of Tarawa
Dr James (Jimbo) Goodrich is an active forensic odontologist in Cambridge, with more than 25 years experience in the field.
He attended the Christchurch Earthquake, Mosque Shootings, and Whakaari White Island Volcano disaster victim identification efforts, as well as more routine individual identification work for the police.
He has presented internationally on his work with Drs Corinne D'Anjou and David Senn with identification of marines from the Battle of Tarawa in 1941, among other things.
Jim is a Fellow of several organisations, including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and is a past president of the New Zealand Society of Forensic Odontology.
Jim is one of the few members of the New Zealand Society of Forensic Odontology to have been fully credentialed in Bitemarks, and his current interests are in the field of the ethical considerations around using dental age estimation to threshold adulthood.
Tuesday September 8th, 2026 - TBC
Tuesday October 13th, 2026 - TBC
Tuesday October 27th, 2026 - - JOINT PARTNERSHIP HISTORY LECTURE -Rod Smith - From Galway to the Waikato Land War - A peerage family's connections
Rod Smith, family history researcher and writer, presents “Galway to the Waikato Land Wars - A Peerage Family’s Connections”.
Rod is a retired public servant, and former newspaper journalist and probation officer. His career included time crewing a cargo freighter, work in an English youth conference centre, and service in the Justice Department, Parliament, the Ministry of Defence, the Forest Service, and the Accident Compensation Corporation.
An avid family historian for over 35 years he has researched in depth his wife’s connections to landed Irish families, publishing his findings in two books – Guinness Down Under: the famous brew and the family come to Australia and New Zealand (2017) and Clancarty: the high times and humble of a noble Irish Family (2024). While researching Clancarty he discovered reports of the family’s involvement in the Waikato Land War of 1863-64 and a revealing speech given by the 3rd Earl of Clancarty in the House of Lords in 1864 on the subject of New Zealand race relations. Rod’s presentation will explore the events of 1863-64 and the several connections between the Earls of Clancarty and New Zealand.
Tuesday November 10th, 2026 - TBC
Tuesday December 8th, 2026 - Vladimir Pacheco - My journey
Vladimir spoke to U3A Cambridge in 2025 and by popular demand, he is returning to share more information about his journey and his life (a topic that he doesn't really talk about in public, but does in 1:1 conversations).
Vladimir Pacheco is currently Associate Professor at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark. His current research interests include socio-economic impacts and governance of non-renewable resource extraction in the Arctic, Latin America and the South Pacific. Previous to this position Vladimir held senior roles in Australia with the Foundation for Development Cooperation, the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and consulting firm WorleyParsons.
His latest publication is a chapter in a book titled “Ideology, Post-ideology and Anti-Ideology in Latin America” published by Bloomsbury Academic.