Professor Sir David Skegg raised the 64-thousand-dollar (or perhaps 64 billion-dollar) question in his testimony before Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee this week. He asked whether the government had a clear the strategic objective for its unprecedented level-four lockdown. Read more

The coronavirus lockdown is a challenge for every one of us. Every worker, family, charity, public institution and firm. Read more

In times of war, parts of the every-day rulebook for liberal democracies must be suspended. To protect personal and economic freedoms, in wartime governments must temporarily curb some of them. Read more

A paradox exists within the personal grievance provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000. By prohibiting “unjustified dismissal,” the provisions were designed to guard the jobs of ordinary workers. Read more

Counting by the number of times the phrases “gig economy” and “future of work” are mentioned by the news media, you could be forgiven for thinking full-time employment was a thing of the past. Yet last year the Productivity Commission reported the so-called gig economy was both small and showed no signs of rapid growth, either in New Zealand or in the 30 other countries for which data was available. Read more

Problem identification is the first step toward good public policy development. Is there a concern that needs solving? Read more

Recent New Zealand elections have revealed a 21st-century paradox. Election year should be a time when politicians talk with the voting public about whether the country’s current policy settings are improving wellbeing, or whether changes are needed. Read more

Standard organisational theory explains the differences between an organisation’s objective (or its goal) and the strategies and tactics it adopts to achieve its objective. If an organisation confuses these concepts, it risks jeopardising its goal. Read more

The more things change, the more they stay the same -- or so the saying goes. The expression could not be a more apt description of what we are witnessing at the Reserve Bank. Read more

It can take courage to champion what you believe in. Especially when your views are at odds with those of the crowd. Read more

The Ministry of Business’ Fair Pay Agreement discussion paper released last month took a long time coming. The ministry sat on it for 10 months following the release of the Bolger-led Fair Pay Agreement Working Group’s report last December. Read more

When the government presses ahead with incomprehensible proposals, you have to ask “Why?” A classic example is the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Discussion Paper, Designing a Fair Pay Agreements System. Submissions in response to the Discussion Paper were due earlier this week. Read more

Forgive them for they know not what they have done. Even for those of us without religious convictions, this is not a bad rule of thumb. Read more