Editor's note

Tēnā koutou katoa - and welcome to your newsletter.

Ten days after a devastating eruption at Whakaari/White Island, police have identified all victims and acknowledged that the two people who remain missing may never be found. In the aftermath of the tragedy, questions are being asked about tourism to potentially dangerous places. Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, at the University of South Australia, and James Higham, at the University of Otago, ask whether the tourists actually knew the risks they faced. They highlight the need for more comprehensive consent forms so visitors can make informed decisions.

The government has released draft legislation for how cannabis could be bought, grown and sold - in a first glimpse of what New Zealanders will be voting on in next year’s cannabis referendum. Massey University public health expert Sally Casswell writes a clear public health approach is to be applauded, but she argues a broader framework will be needed to stop industry marketing from influencing policy.

Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit is not Disney Studios’ first foray into Hitler parody, but Benjamin Nickl, at the University of Sydney, writes that the movie masterfully negotiates between a book adaptation, Holocaust memory and Hollywood.

And this week’s Climate Explained, by Massey University’s Robert McLachlan, takes a close look at which countries are on track to meet their pledges under the Paris Agreement.

This is the last Climate Explained article for the year, but the series will return in 2020. This is also the last New Zealand specific newsletter, but if you want to keep receiving the best in evidence-based news coverage from experts from both New Zealand and Australia, please sign up to The Conversation Australia + NZ’s daily newsletter.

All the best for the festive season, summer holidays and a great start to 2020. He mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.

Veronika Meduna

New Zealand Editor

Top stories

The Royal New Zealand Navy during a recovery operation on Whakaari/White Island, on December 13. Rescue and recovery efforts have been hampered by hazardous conditions on the island, and the danger of another eruption. EPA/Royal NZ Navy

Call for clearer risk information for tourists following Whakaari/White Island tragedy

Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, University of South Australia; James Higham, University of Otago

The tragedy at Whakaari/White Island highlights the need for consent forms to ensure tourists are fully informed when choosing to visit dangerous locations.

Alcohol companies are part owners of cannabis production overseas already, and they have the resources to influence policy development. from www.shutterstock.com

Why NZ’s cannabis bill needs to stop industry from influencing policy

Sally Casswell, Massey University

The draft New Zealand cannabis law proposes a ban on advertising, but includes no reference to marketing via social media, where most alcohol marketing now takes place.

To keep temperatures from rising above 1.5℃ requires reducing fossil fuel burning by half by 2032. from www.shutterstock.com

Climate explained: which countries are likely to meet their Paris Agreement targets

Robert McLachlan, Massey University

Under the Paris Agreement, countries have registered plans to meet emissions reductions, but the current pledges, if fully realised, would take us to 2℃ by the 2050s.

Jojo’s allegiances in the film are split between an imagined friends and a real hideaway. Fox Searchlight

Jojo Rabbit: Hitler humour and a child’s eye view of war make for dark satire

Benjamin Nickl, University of Sydney

A Disney Hitler comedy by the director of Hunt for the Wilderpeople tests the line between funny and Führer.

From The Conversation's international editions

Attention United Nations: don’t be fooled by Australia’s latest report on the Great Barrier Reef

Jon C. Day, James Cook University

Australia says the reef's world heritage values are fine and the threats are in hand. But the reality is far different.

5 things MYEFO tells us about the economy and the nation’s finances

Danielle Wood, Grattan Institute; Kate Griffiths, Grattan Institute

MYEFO contains a long-overdue admission: that low wage growth is the new normal. It'll take extraordinary spending restraint to make the surplus forecasts stick.

New study: changes in climate since 2000 have cut Australian farm profits 22%

Neal Hughes, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES); Steve Hatfield-Dodds, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)

For crop farmers, the risk of low profit years has doubled.

Feeling sick is an emotion meant to help you get better faster

Joshua Schrock, University of Oregon

Fighting off infection comes with predictable psychological and behavioral features. Now researchers suggest an emotion coordinates this response to help you get better. They call it 'lassitude.'

7 reasons to learn a foreign language

Kathleen Stein-Smith, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Better job prospects and richer lives are among the many reasons to learn a foreign language, an expert on foreign language instruction writes.

Ditch the people or policy? What historic trends suggest Labour needs to do next

Paul Whiteley, University of Essex; Harold D Clarke, University of Texas at Dallas

The leadership insists the manifesto was not the problem in 2019 – but are they sure?

What would the British parliament look like under proportional representation?

Heinz Brandenburg, University of Strathclyde

A chorus of politicians are once again calling for electoral reform after the UK's 2019 election.

‘They put a few coins in your hands to drop a baby in you’ – 265 stories of Haitian children abandoned by UN fathers

Sabine Lee, University of Birmingham; Susan Bartels, Queen's University, Ontario

The voices of young victims in Haiti can now be heard for the first time thanks to a groundbreaking new research project.

How Indonesia’s government can get villagers to help with the climate crisis

Silvia Irawan, Yayasan Inobu

The Indonesian government has been distributing funds for village development. In 2019, the money can also be used for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

How a Canadian superhero brought queer representation to Marvel Comics

J. Andrew Deman, University of Waterloo

Marvel Comics is frequently referred to as “the house of ideas,” yet the idea of a queer superhero did not fully arrive at Marvel until the 1990s.

Toxic cities: Urban wildlife affected by exposure to pollutants

Kaylee Byers, University of British Columbia; Cecilia Sanchez, University of Georgia

Urban wildlife are exposed to more pollutants than wildlife living in natural areas. In addition to causing death, these pollutants can affect animals' development and reproduction.

‘Sham marriages’: why Europe needs to get off its high horse

Apostolos Andrikopoulos, University of Amsterdam

Immigration authorities cast doubt on the motives of marriages between African nationals and Europeans, violating these couples’ right to family life