It does not happen often that I set my alarm to just before 4am to watch the results from a provincial election in Germany. But that is what I did yesterday for Saxony-Anhalt, in Germany’s east. Read more
In April 1901, a Bavarian immigrant baker named Joseph Lochner was arrested in Utica, New York. Unlike the larger bakeries, which worked two shifts, Lochner employed a single crew: his bakers arrived in the evening, prepared the dough, slept a few hours on the premises and baked before dawn. Read more
For young people, contemplating career options can be bewildering. It can be hard even to know what opportunities are available. Read more
Paul Henry is standing for ACT and Taine Randell for New Zealand First. Oliver and Damien ask whether celebrity candidates actually win votes, and why New Zealand tends to produce the reverse, politicians who become famous through politics. Read more
Imagine two paddocks at the edge of a city. They have the same soil and access to the same roads and pipes. Read more
Voting opens today in the most important election of 2026. And no, this is not the General Election. Read more
Following the government's decision to delay a planned fuel excise increase until 2028, our Chief Economist Eric Crampton joined Sean Plunket on The Platform to explain why funding roads this way is bad policy. Eric traced how New Zealand's road funding has drifted from a disciplined, user-pays model, where road user charges and fuel excise funded maintenance first, with taxpayer money reserved for tightly-vetted new capacity, to one where general taxpayer top-ups have become routine and cost-benefit standards have slipped. Read more
New Zealand is barely a military power. It has had no combat aircraft for 25 years, and its ageing frigates need replacing. Read more
What is politics? According to Max Weber’s classic definition, politics is “a strong and slow boring of hard boards.” Having worked around politics for over two decades has given me a good idea of what Weber meant by that. Read more
Major General John Howard speaks with Ryan Bridges on Herald NOW around why US and NZ are co-funding Cook Island port. John discusses it's alignment with our national security strategy and the economic benefits for the Cook Islands. Read more
For practical purposes, not emitting a tonne of carbon dioxide is equivalent to pulling a tonne of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and securely sequestering it, so long as the accounting is sound. The Zero Carbon Act consequently requires net zero for greenhouse gases other than biogenic methane. Read more
Most news clips from Parliament are from Question Time. It is at least as much performance theatre as a mechanism for holding government to account. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talks with Wallace Chapman, alongside panellists Zoe George and Tim Wilson on The Panel about the Government's announcement that it will delay increases to fuel taxes by a year. Eric shares his opinions on the decision and offers up some alternative answers. Read more
In November 2018, officials at Immigration New Zealand began work on replacing the ageing biometric systems that verify identities and manage immigration risk. Seven years later it was dead, having delivered no measurable benefit. Read more
No competent physician would prescribe a remedy for a symptom before determining its cause. Local Government Minister Simon Watts wants to cap council rates increases at 2 to 4 percent. Read more
