So the first round of the flag referendum is done (bar the formal tidying up). What, if anything, does it tell us?
Read MorePolitics
2015: My year that was
Here's a trawl through the year in politics and what stood out for me
Read MorePeter Dunne is right!
There is no reason to cancel the passport of any so-called "Jihadi brides". And Chris Lynch is a bit of a moron for suggesting that this should happen.
Read MoreOn Britain & New Zealand's role in the western alliance
Britain is divided, and the British Labour Party even more so, over its role in leading Western nations. So does it offer lessons for New Zealand?
Read MoreSpinning the return of Judith Collins
Judith Collins is back in Cabinet. But let's not forget, her resignation was for an issue separate from those detailed in Dirty Politics, so she has never been "cleared" of the behaviour revealed in the book
Read MoreWe’ve always been at war with beneficiaries
The Government is seeking to retrospectively change the law to match the Ministry of Social Welfare's practice. Retrospective legislation is bad generally, and very bad in this case.
Read MoreFour things we can do after Paris
The ISIS attacks on Friday the 13th in Paris, in Beirut, and when the Russia plane was attacked, were an attack on all modern civilisation and society from Lebanon to France. The target on Friday was the values first articulated on Paris streets in the 18th century that led to a modern liberal revolution and eventually liberty in speech and assembly, fraternity expressed in tolerance and plurality, and equality between genders.
Read MoreSo now, where does NZ go?
A hundred years on from Gallipoli, and a few days after the massacre in in Paris, where does New Zealand stand in the western alliance and what is out role in the world's troubles?
Read MoreWhy does the Waitangi Tribunal insist on following the law?
The Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson is wrong in his public criticisms of the Waitangi Tribunal. Perhaps the Attorney-General Chris Finlayson could have a quiet word in his ear about the importance of the separation of powers in our Constitution?
Read MoreCan bias be in the eye of the beholder - and can you call it like you see it?
Parliament's powerful Privileges Committee (P3C!) is going to have to decide the boundary of fair criticism of the House's Speaker. This should be fun!
Read MoreAustralia: purging the convict stain?
Australia's mandatory deportation of (many) criminal offenders is causing us in New Zealand to get very excited. And now John Key realises he can't do anything about it, he's getting ugly.
Read MoreThe detainee spin battle: Backing rapists vs immoral weakling
Labour and National have found a fight they both want to have, as they use the Christmas Island riots as part of their over-arching PR strategies. Yet for once it's National looking rattled
Read MoreLabour: Taking out the trash, hanging up new tinsel
It's a big day of transitioning for Labour, as it clears the decks for it's 'small targets' strategy. But one particular new policy caught my eye
Read MoreCamp Goff: old news, new tactics
Phil Goff's latest lift of his skirt reveals nothing new about his mayoral ambitions, but something more about his thinking and tactics
Read MoreGM showdown: Minister & Councils face-off over who decides
The rights and wrongs of genetic modification are resurfacing as a political issue, as National signals its intent to introduce more GMOs, despite opposition from some councils and business
Read MoreThe Ports of (outside) Auckland
Can candidates for the Auckland mayoralty next year find a way to move the Ports of Auckland? If so, where to and at what cost?
Read MoreWe need to talk about the one per cent
One per cent of the world's population now control half its wealth.
The concentration of more and more resources in fewer and fewer hands has actually accelerated since the global financial crisis. This is no accident. It is the outcome of policy decisions made – or avoided – by political leaders either unable to learn the lessons of the crisis or unwilling to act on them.
Read MoreKey-Turnbull: How to get out from under the detention centre shadow
The New Zealanders languishing in Australian detention centres are a stone in the shoe of the first John Key-Malcolm Turnbull meeting this weekend, but there are face-saving ways Turnbull could cut Kiwis some slack
Read MoreScience is golden... But where's the gold?
With our leading science organisations 'right-sizing' and science funding stalled, is the government's approach to science meeting the needs of New Zealand now and in the future?
Read MoreComes the rule with no exception
Jane Kelsey's court victory over the evil MFAT/Tim Groser empire is probably too little, too late for her campaign against the TPPA. But it sends some important messages to a range of public actors in New Zealand's governing arrangements.
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