In ancient Greek, a dogma was something that simply seemed to be true. Today, of course, it has a more absolute meaning. Fanatics of whatever flavour hold their core dogmas sacred. If they belong to a cult that believes the true path lies in cupcake consumption, then they will consume cupcakes. And they will accept their dogma without question.Under its former leader, there was more than a little of this in Labour’s opposition to partnership schools. Read more

The Prime Minister had the “personality of a rock”. The Minister of Health was “Dr Death”. The Minister of Finance was “as authentic as a $4 Rolex”. And the Foreign Minister had “the energy of a small hill”. These are some of the insults hurled at the government by Labour’s new Deputy Leader Kelvin Davis on TV last weekend. As I watched Mr Davis’s blast on the Q+A programme, I wondered how long it must have taken him to rehearse... Read more

Elon Musk, of Paypal and Tesla fame, is boring a tunnel under Los Angeles. Musk believes he will be able to transport cars between L.A.’s West Coast and centre in five minutes. Auckland is smaller than L.A., but perhaps it is time we raised our game. Last weekend saw a flurry of pre-election announcements about Auckland transport; new roads and rail from National, and a new fuel-tax funded, light-rail line from Labour. Read more

As loyal readers might be aware, The New Zealand Initiative has long been concerned that there is a real scandal in New Zealand education. Some of our most vulnerable kids are leaving school without the skills they need to get ahead in life. No, I’m not talking about literacy and numeracy – although they are important too. I am talking about something even more basic. It appears the kids of today do not even know how to smile and breathe. Read more