Will taking the Union Jack off New Zealand's flag "open the gates of hell" and give John Key absolute power? No. No it won't.
Read MoreLaw
"Into the River" should not have been banned
The reasons given for imposing an order stopping anyone from being able to access Into the River do not justify it. The order is wrong.
Read MoreWon't someone PLEASE think of the children?
Just how dangerous can a book be? And in order to combat that danger, how far should our expressive freedoms be restrained?
Read More"Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power"
The only reason that makes any sense for giving a Saudi sheep breeder an $11 million farm is because we thought it might buy us a Free Trade Agreement with his country. It's a good thing that we're not a corrupt nation, isn't it?
Read MoreBliss was it in that dawn to be alive
A New Zealand High Court has just told Parliament that its law limits rights in a way that cannot be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. In other words, it failed in its basic task as a lawmaker.
Read MoreThe Government's problem with problem gambling
The High Court just gave the Government (in the form of officials in the Ministry of Health) a complete shellacking over the way it decided to remove funding from the Problem Gambling Foundation. It's worth going into the memory hole to recall what was said about that decision at the time it was made.
Read MoreTime to have that talk on euthanasia Parliament keeps saying we need to have
Parliament - or, at least, a committtee of Parliament - is finally getting the chance to allow the public discussion of end of life choice that (most) everyone says is needed in the wake of Lecretia Seales' court case. Will it now do its job?
Update: Yes. Yes it will.
Read MoreWhy can't we all just get along?
There may be a question mark as to whether the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club is acting unlawfully in stopping Sikh men from eating at its restaurant. But there's no question that it is acting stupidly.
Read MoreIwi and Auckland housing - the tune is changing
It looks like Nick Smith and the National Government may be doing what they should have done from the outset - talking to Auckland Iwi about how they can be the developers of housing on the Crown's land in Auckland.
Read MoreLive sheep exports: I'm grumpy
Make no mistake - the live export of 53,000 animals from Timaru to Mexico is worth getting grumpy about
Read MoreWhere to next for aid in dying?
The Seales v Attorney General decision was a pretty comprehensive legal loss for proponents of aid in dying. But it is by no means the last word on the matter.
Read MoreAnd then another elephant came along
In 2012, the Government promised Auckland Maori that they would have first dibs on any new housing developments on its land. So why aren't they involved at all in Nick Smith's 500 hectare vision?
Read MoreA tangata whenua shaped elephant on the path
The Government's plans to use the Crown's land for houses for Aucklanders face a bit of a problem - it may not be able to sell them the land on which those houses sit.
Read MoreWhat if your MP was decided on the flip of a coin?
We say that it should be the voters and the voters alone that determine who is and who is not a member of Parliament. At least, up until we say that pure chance should decide that matter.
Read MoreIf you want people to believe you are honest, then it's best not to file false donation returns
John Banks should have been declared innocent by the Court of Appeal in November last year. But that doesn't mean he should not have been before the courts at all.
Read MoreFair Funding for ACC?
Andrew Little recently suggested that ACC's current funding model is more suitable for private insurance, and suggested that a future Labour government might change it - but in doing so failed to get to the heart of the issue.
Read MoreIs calling for a boycott of Israel a form of hate speech?
Us intolerant liberal types who favour using the power of law to put an end to the sort of intolerant words and deeds that we detest should look to Canada and ... ponder.
Read MoreThere's none so deaf as they that will not hear
The saga of family carers for the severely disabled is still being written, despite Parliament's attempts to put a full stop on it. It makes for a really interesting constitutional tale.
Read MoreLest we forget
It isn't just the service men and women of New Zealand whose sacrifice we need to remember at this year's ANZAC Day. Our involvement in World War One came at the cost of some pretty important freedoms as well.
Read MoreThough ye flourish more arms than the giant Briareus, ye have to reckon with me
Arthur Taylor's tilt at the windmills of Hellensville predictably has resulted in a shattered lance. Now we wait for the outcome of his really interesting court challenge.
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