The New Zealand Initiative has been a staunch supporter of the coalition government’s housing agenda. While we warned that Kiwibuild would not fix the housing crisis but rather risked diverting the government’s attention from more important reforms, we have had every confidence in Minister Twyford’s wider vision. Read more

“It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes,” said Douglas Adams of the Silastic Armourfiends of Striterax in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.The aliens believed they could control their anger by punching potatoes. Alas, once they started doing that, it did not take long for them to get bored and shoot people instead. Our government on earth seems to be taking policy advice from the Armourfiends, pursuing a potato obsession without care... Read more

Imagine you wanted to establish a bar. Before you could worry about vintage, décor or music, local activists might scare you away. Like the 500+ people protesting against a proposed bottle shop in Wellington’s Khandallah suburb this month. Read more

Fans of the classic Australian political satire The Hollowmen will remember the standard trick for inflating a figure when doing political math: roll together several years' expenditures to get a bigger number. Read more