OPINION

Wellington has its share of urban legends, most of them false. One of the more popular ones, and a recurring social media trope, claims that America’s Army Corps of Engineers was prepared to build a proper motorway between Wellington and Auckland after the Second World War. Read more

When the Commerce Commission was looking into retail grocery competition, my shop urged the commission to check on something important. As best we could tell, it would be effectively impossible for a new large-format supermarket chain to open in New Zealand. Read more

When France celebrates its national holiday today, it will look much the same as always. There will be the usual aircraft flyover and the cavalry parading past the president. Read more

Nostalgia is a wonderful state of mind but, almost by definition, it glorifies the past while ignoring things that were not so good. Many older New Zealanders are nostalgic for the 1970s. Read more

In 1973, 843 people died on New Zealand roads. Last year, with far more people driving far more cars, the provisional toll was 272. Read more

Fourteen New Zealand restaurants picked up a Michelin star last week, the first time Michelin had rated New Zealand at all. One reached two stars. Read more

Every July, members of the New Zealand Association of Economists – academics, practitioners, and officials – meet to tell each other what they’ve been working on. Work presented tends to be work-in-progress. Read more

Ten years ago, the NZ Initiative brought a Canadian diplomat to Wellington to explain how Canada let ordinary citizens sponsor refugees. Dean Barry told us that when Canadian communities pledged to support one more refugee, Canada admitted one more. Read more

Local government reform has turned into a numbers game. The government’s ‘Head Start’ asks how many councils we should have, and where the lines between their jurisdictions should be drawn. Read more