What was 2010 like for the smaller parties propping up this government? Not a lot of fun, really. Big holes were exposed in ACT, the Maori Party and United Future, which raise even bigger questions
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PCE and Groser: fix the ETS
In which expert advisory work from the PCE illustrates why the ETS in its present form risks a massive lignite subsidy, and Tim Groser — quite rightly — observes that this would be “ridiculous” and “incoherent”
Read MoreApres nous, le deluge
We may not have a National-led Government after the next election. Here's why we probably will.
Read More2010: A political year of half-measures
The government ended the year on the political mountain top thanks to a lot of luck and bucket full of caution... And my belated pick for minister of the year
Read MoreCalifornia goes back to the future
California has never been in bigger fiscal trouble. So who do voters choose as their new governor? Jerry Brown, aka 'Governor Moonbeam', the budget-conscious pol who was their governor 28 years ago
Read MoreEver get the feeling you've been cheated? Good night
Whether the resolution of The Hobbit fracas is good or bad, the way it got resolved looks pretty dodgy to me.
Read MorePoll of Polls: Plus Ça Change
Many polls. Much excitement. Little change.
Read MoreWhat I hope we've learnt from being leaky
The Supreme Court's ruling on leaky homes is both exactly right and terribly unfair. And it holds vital lessons for how governments govern and the foreshore & seabed
Read MoreAin't the new sound just like the old sound?
The Electoral Finance Act is dead. Long live the Electoral Finance Act.
Read MoreFear & loathing: Guns and Greg O'Connor, that is
The attack on Bruce Mellor shouldn't be linked with arming our police. Instead, we need to unload and ask whether more guns and more fear of the police is really the best way forward?
Read MoreFull of high sentence, but a bit obtuse: 2010, in review
2010 was all about one question: how, exactly, does one balance economic opportunities with environmental responsibilities? It was a 'politic, cautious' year
Read MoreDivine intervention and the Key welfare agenda
Comments from the Prime Minister suggest that the government's willingness to act tough on welfare may go a lot further than many expect
Read MoreStop Whining and Suck It Up
If you want to know why the wine industry's up the creek without a paddle, just look to those at the top. Join the Wine Institute of NZ Inc and stuff up a good thing.
Read MoreWhat the constitutional review will recommend - you heard it here first!
The Government has announced its review of New Zealand's Constitution. I'm announcing what it will recommend - except about thething that really, really matters.
Read MoreHeather Roy's done it again - why we shouldn't follow her back to the future
Heather Roy reckons our nuclear-free policy is stopping a free-trade deal with the US. Someone needs to tell her that the '80s are over, Reagan isn't president anymore and Iowa doesn't give a toss
Read MoreJames Hansen’s fee and dividend: our election year tax cut
Everybody except Nick Smith thinks the emissions trading scheme is dumb. Unhappy with mainstream climate change policy responses, environmentalists are looking elsewhere. Here’s a new idea, that we’ll hear more of in 2011: an election year idea, all about tax and cuts
Read MoreWas I wrong about the CERRA?
The Regulations Review Committee thinks the Government is using the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act appropriately. This is good news.
Read MoreIncreased childcare costs reveal National's soft underbelly
Labour is going after National on early childhood education costs, and for once actually has the politics on its side and the government on the ropes
Read MoreDeepwater oil on Nature’s Coast
Two offshore spills in less than a month – but
Subtle dangers in Paula Rebstock's sugar coated poison
The government Welfare Working Group's 'Options Paper' was released this afternoon. While Paula Rebstock says nothing is decided yet, its overall direction confirms my earlier fears. It could make the 1991 benefit cuts look like a picnic
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