The TPP may not deliver an immediate big bang for our dairy industry. But there's an awful lot to like in it - and New Zealand really has to be a part of it.
Read MorePolitics
Success - everyone equally unhappy
TPP can help lift incomes in New Zealand but to make a difference for people, there’s a lot more work still to do.
Of TPP's, ISDS's and the Constitution
If the Trans-Pacific Partnership becomes an Agreement, New Zealand will become bound by a set of "Investor State Dispute Settlement" procedures. What are these, and why should anyone care?
Read MoreRed Peak, red faces - flag turns into a farce
The Greens and National have combined today to add Red Peak to the flag referendum, and in doing so have ensured a troubled process has crossed into slapstick
Read MoreCure for third-termitis? A dose of the polls
A year on from the election and we now see loud and clear what defines the John Key government - a willingness to bend to public opinion and give the people just enough of what they want
Read MoreParliament is a social media friendly space
Parliament's powerful Privileges Committee has had a hard look at how social media is being used to report on Parliament ... and decided that everything is working pretty much fine as it is. Hooray!
Read MoreIs Jeremy Corbyn the Donald Trump of the British left?
It's one thing to galvinise the base, quite another to win over the general electorate. And it's hard to see a strategy which Jeremy Corbyn can use to achieve that
Read MoreMy sole contribution to the great flag conspiracy
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 MoreAylan the life-saver... and what comes next
How long has it been since the death of a single child has saved so many other lives? And now that we are paying attention, how do we get the next step right?
Read MoreIt was a catastrophically wrong decision not to intervene to stop Assad
Today’s refugee crisis is one result of doing nothing to stop Bashar al-Assad after he used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians.
Everyone talks about the human consequences of intervention. But we also need to look at the human consequences of doing nothing.
Read MoreWe can do something right now - refugee crisis
There are ninety towns in New Zealand with a population between 5,000 and 20,000. If each of those towns took ten refugees, and our larger cities took 100 each, we’d triple our quota to nearly 3000 without any going to Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington.
New Zealand would be a proud example of practical, no-nonsense compassion.
Guts, guts, got no guts
New Zealand is a country that stands up for its values - unless it involves the inconvenience of bringing a few more desperate people into New Zealand for a new life.
Read MoreWhen 'throwing money at the problem' might just work
Talk to social workers and experts trying to get New Zealand's most troubled kids safely through to adulthood and the impression left is that the best thing to do may also be the thing that's most politically anathema to this government
Read MoreFlagging Design
The flag debate tells us something about the quality of design in New Zealand
Read MoreMy sole contribution to the great flag debate
Apparently, we have to vote twice to decide whether we prefer the current flag to something else. So why was one vote enough when we were voting on our electoral system?
Read MoreAre the banks fleecing us? Ask a Shearer
A bit of anger over credit cards could earn Labour a bit of credit with voters, but there's a risk for a party that is still trying to prove its economic bona fides
Read MoreHow to avoid a ‘Sexit’
Solid Energy has a basically sound business that is being crushed by debt. If Greece’s debt sent it hurtling towards a ‘Grexit', Solid Energy can avoid a Sexit.
Here’s how.
"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 MoreTPP: The true cost of negotiations
The Trans-Pacific Partnership could yet be sealed in the next few weeks, and if it is we need to think hard about the cost of signing up... and the cost of staying out
Read MoreRMA: a cautionary tale
Once upon a time, in a land not very far away, there lived a king. True story.
Read More