Right now, Auckland Council’s zoning allows people to build about a million shops selling tasty pies. Tomorrow, someone could buy or lease a commercially-zoned site near you and turn it into a shop selling pies. Read more
Imagine Parliament passes a Schools Act “to promote the establishment of schools for the benefit of New Zealand.” Parliament is careful. It specifies exactly what the Minister must consider before approving a new school: the operator’s financial capability, site safety, compliance history, and consultation with local iwi. Read more
Parliament returned this week after a six-week holiday. It will have a lot to consider this year. Read more
In this episode, Michael and Stephanie are joined by former Chief Justice of Australia Robert French to examine academic freedom and freedom of expression in universities. French reflects on the model code he developed in 2019 for Australian universities and explains why the real threat to free speech often lies in vague codes of conduct rather than controversial speakers. Read more
This week, 2026 got under way in earnest. Workers are back at work, children are back at school and New Year’s resolutions have faded into distant memory. Read more
Consumer price inflation in New Zealand is not beaten. The Reserve Bank might decide it has cut interest rates a bit too much. Read more
The pre-Christmas stoush between Finance Minister Nicola Willis and her 1990s predecessor Ruth Richardson has faded. The planned debate was cancelled. Read more
The past month has been difficult to process. Afemerican special forces captured Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. Read more
With the Government’s planning reforms dominating the pre-Christmas announcements, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk’s overhaul of the building consent system attracted less attention. That is a pity. Read more
Last week's headlines suggested another wobble in housing reform. Signals from the Prime Minister about easing Auckland's intensification settings appeared to undercut Housing Minister Chris Bishop. Read more
The paint was still drying on the Auckland convention centre when Christopher Luxon delivered his State of the Nation speech on Monday. Some of the furniture had not arrived. Read more
The domestic political year has started with housing density back on the agenda. Is Christopher Luxon walking away from the bipartisan housing accord? Read more
2025 Insights Newsletters Insights 48 / 19 December: From blueprints to building Insights 47 / 12 December: A replacement RMA | Counted out | Planning to plan Insights 46 / 5 December: Dodging tax debts | Reaching housing consensus | A Christmas wish Insights 45 / 28 November: Manic compression | Fast-tracking the bill | Contraceptive house prices Insights 44 / 21 November: Opportunities and challenges | Über messy | The lever-pullers Insights 43 / 14 November: Governance, not ideology | Grocery reform? | Ned to know Insights 42 / 7 November: Better health | Professional standards dilemma | A stadium proposal Insights 41 / 31 October: MMP after 30 years | Falling behind? Read more
If not military intervention, then what? And when is intervention justified?” Those were the challenges from readers of my recent essay arguing conservatives should not be too quick to praise President Trump’s removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Read more
This concluding episode examines what it takes for housing reform to endure. Minister Chris Bishop reflects on his journey to Competitive Urban Land Markets (CLM) and why housing affordability is best understood as a problem of land supply. Read more