Seeking Ireland’s secrets Few countries feel so similar as New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland. We are both island nations with much larger neighbours. Read more
Michael Johnston was interviewed by Rodney Hide on Reality Check Radio to discuss the leaked 'fast draft' science curriculum.
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This submission in response to Consultation on New Zealand Grocery Supply Code of Conduct is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
Advance draft copies of the new science curriculum for schools have shocked some science teachers. The so-called fast draft contains no mention of the core science subjects physics, chemistry and biology. Read more
Sean Plunket talks to economist Eric Crampton from the New Zealand Initiative about the Green Party's proposed cap on rent rises.
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The Third Law of Demand Once you see it, you see it everywhere. Married couples who’ve left the kids home with a sitter go out to nicer restaurants than childless couples who have the same income. Read more
They say a week's a long time in politics. But perhaps this week is feeling longer than most for some punters as they get their wallets around various new taxes and the end of old subsidies. Read more
This month’s Dollars & Sense asks business sector leaders what they’d like politicians to promise on the campaign trail. Dr Bryce Wilkinson was interviewed by NBR's Jonathan Mitchell. Read more
So, we are in a ‘technical recession’. Sounds bad. Read more
The Ministry of Education is being criticised for its new draft of the science curriculum. The proposal doesn't appear to list physics and chemistry, but instead focuses on climate change, biodiversity, the food-energy-water nexus, and infectious diseases. Read more
Parliament’s Environment Committee released its reports on the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills this week. The (Labour) majority recommends that modified Bills be enacted. Read more
For most of the 2010s, if schools wanted funding for new classrooms, the Ministry of Education insisted that they build Modern Learning Environments (MLEs). These are large, open-plan classrooms, sometimes housing more than a hundred children and their teachers. Read more
Victoria University of WELLINGTON has announced a new $30-million research project to figure out how the university managed to dig itself a $30 million financial hole. ‘Some have suggested that spending more than you take in can have that effect over the long run,’ said Associate-Assistant Vice-Dean Barbara Boffin, ‘But it’s obviously something we need to investigate further.’ The losses were definitely not due to a new AI programme designed to find every instance of the university’s name anywhere in the world and capitalize every letter of the word WELLINGTON, said Super-Pro-Vice-Chancellor Tom Toady. Read more
New Zealand has produced some impressive scientists during its short history. Ernest Rutherford, dubbed ‘the father of nuclear physics’, must surely be foremost among them. Read more
Sean Plunket talks to Dr Bryce Wilkinson from the New Zealand Initiative about the 28% rise in public service staff since Labour won in 2017.
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