The swan politicians may be gliding on the water, occasionally snapping at one another. Meanwhile, as the Covid19 crisis illustrates, the officials are desperately paddling below providing the real locomotion.
Read MoreBackstage and Theatre
Economy
Dealing with the Covid-19 Tsunami.
Not a grand coalition, but a government of national salvation
Loyal opposition is no longer possible, so national unity is now required.
Read MoreBlack April, May and June?
In November 1918 New Zealand was hit by the worldwide flu which killed around 9000 of us. Is there anything to learn from this and later experiences?
Read MoreNo half-measures: the risk to the economy is too serious
The government needs to go big or go home. Here are a few things Liam Hehir hopes it plans to announce.
Read MoreTomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
As our record on gun control shows, too often we find it easier to put off addressing issues until it is too late.
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The Trustless Economy
Has economic productivity suffered from the lowering of public trust?
Read MoreConsultation and Generic Managers
I prepared this note for some friends who were arguing with a government agency over whether they were adequately consulted. (It does not matter which one; the disagreement about consultation standards is widespread.) For sometimes a public servant says that there has been consultation on a matter of public interest. Yet many stakeholders cannot recall that happening. The dispute may revolves around the meaning of ‘consultation’.
Read MoreIncome Inequality Is Rising
It would be easy to report my latest findings on the income distribution with grandiose hysteria. But I am a social statistician and readers deserve a sober assessment. The conclusion that high incomes are rising faster than the rest is powerful enough on its own.
Read MoreWho Pays for the Roads?
The proposed infrastructural spending on roads leaves open a whole range of issues such as who pays and who benefits.
Read MoreMuddled Thinking About RNZ.
Sometimes public policy in New Zealand is like the Red Queen who announced 'sentence first – verdict afterwards'.
Read MoreManifesto for the Text
It is time that the people demanded something be done about the parlous state of Archives New Zealand and the National Library and of public policy towards literacy and the text generally.
Read MoreFailing to Regulate for Death, Destruction and Waste
The Building and Construction Industry shows that the light-handed regulation often does not work.
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Will the New Public Service Act Result in Better Services to the Public?
Fahrenheit 451
The Attack on Literacy
“The Health of the People”
David Skegg’s book not only argues for vigorous population-based health programs but also provides an uncomfortable account of how decisions in the public interest can be overwhelmed by short-term politics.
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Christmas Thoughts
Is the Left Being Left Behind?
Has the democratic socialist tradition become a conservative force in politics throughout the world?
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Connecting the Nation
At issue is not whether Whangarei becomes Auckland’s main port. It is about the way Auckland connects to Northland and the rest of New Zealand.
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