Stagnation and Contraction
Read MoreHow has the New Zealand economy been doing?
Pricing Road Usage
Congestion pricing is easier said than done.
Read MoreIn Open Seas; A Book
Have We an Infrastructure Deficit?
An Infrastructure Commission report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.
Read MoreThe Principles of the Treaty
Hardly anyone says what are ‘the principles of the treaty’. The courts’ interpretation restrain the New Zealand Government. While they about protecting a particular community, those restraints apply equally to all community in a liberal democracy – including a single person.
Read MoreTrading Towards a Multipolar World
.AUKUS is a backward-looking policy. The World needs to move forward.
Read MoreShould Social Media Help Fund News Providers?
The underlying economics of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill rests on intellectual property rights.
Read MoreHierarchy or Colleagues?
The claim that there are currently 14 layers of management at Health New Zealand, raises wider issues of how we organise systems.
Read MoreThe Quest for Opportunity
David Seymour describing himself as an ‘old-fashioned lefty’ caused a flurry in the commentariat.
Read MoreBalancing External Security and the Economy
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China?
Read MoreMight Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?
A burst of grassroots support, a rush of donations, a new, surprise candidate sweeping into an election race crying out for some ‘stardust’. Could the US presidential election have echoes of New Zealand 2017?
Read MoreFlooding Housing Policy
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.
Read MoreUnsurprising, but Trump shooting creates opportunity for a surprising response
As we unite to condemn the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania, can we honestly say we’re shocked? But perhaps this event could serve to unite a bitterly divided America behind a more peaceful path
Read MoreDems need to ask the right question about Biden as his age now defines the campaign
It was billed as a make-or-break new conference, but the fact is Biden’s cognitive ability is now on the ballot in November and the Democrats need to ask their own make-or-break questions
Read MoreLearning From Brexit
Whether Britain leaving the European Union was right or wrong, good or bad is for the Brits to decide. But there are lessons about international trade to be learned from Brexit, especially as it is very unusual for an economy to break so completely from its major training partner.
Read MoreThe Pharmac Fiasco
If you don’t understand how things work you make foolish mistakes. To explain how the government got into its cancer drugs muddle, we need to explain first how New Zealand’s pharmaceutical purchasing system works.
Read MoreWhat is Social Investment Analysis?
Evaluating the impact of social policies will be very difficult but the government does not seem to be doing much real evaluation.
Read MoreA debate to make the world tremble
The opening presidential debate of 2024 was like no other. This was an awful debate of lies and incoherence, dangerously far from the policy battles of only years ago; a debate of golf swings and porn starts rather than issues
Read MoreMainstreaming Māori
Mainstreaming need not be inherently anti-Māori. It will be if it is done badly because it will be anti-those-in need, and proportionally more of them are Māori.
Read MoreCoalition of the Unwilling?
What does Budget 2024 tell us about the current government? Muddle on?
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