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
This week, the government introduced legislation intended to protect youths from online harms. If the Bill passes, covered social media platforms will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to stop under-16s from having accounts. Platforms that do not do enough will risk large fines. Read more
Over the past couple of weeks, the two major parties have told us about their fiscal policies. Both promise to return the budget to surplus before the end of the decade. Read more
On Monday evening, I sat on a panel at Foxglove on Queens Wharf in Wellington, where I was expected to play the neoliberal villain. The Institute for Democratic and Economic Analysis is a think tank devoted to fighting poverty and political exclusion. Read more
I have always liked Iceland. My first visit was on a cruise ship in the mid-1990s. Read more
A fortnight ago, the government agreed a sale worth $702 million. Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop sold the loans the Crown made to Chorus to help build the ultrafast broadband network, for $60 million above book value. Read more
New Zealand is about to lose a German bread that was never German, and as the only German in the room, I have been invited to grieve. I will pass. Read more
On my first morning as Prime Minister, I would deliver a speech. It would contain no slogans or platitudes about becoming the best country in the world. Read more
At its campaign launch in Gisborne on Sunday, Te Pāti Māori asked its supporters for something no party had requested so openly before: candidate votes for the party, party votes for its allies on the left. The request rests on MMP’s overhang rule. Read more
The Financial Markets Authority is having a bad year. Its chair resigned in May. Read more
Imagine you run a business as a “dag crusher”. For those unfamiliar with the term, a “dag” is a dirty bit of wool attached to a sheep’s rear end. Read more
For many today, inequality is a dragon that public policy must slay. The accusing fingers usually point at unequal outcomes for selected things, such as income and diversity representation. Read more
When New Zealanders go to the polls on 7 November, they will be spoilt for choice. In the main, there are two larger (Labour and National) and five smaller parties (ACT, Greens, NZ First, Opportunity, Te Pāti Māori). Read more
The back of the bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label that I keep at the office has two labels. The first company-branded label appears to be designed for international markets that use the metric system. Read more
New Zealand’s Treasury has two big jobs that nobody else can do. They’re both highlighted in the first line of Treasury’s ‘Who we are’ website. Read more