In part two, the development of New Times thinking in reaction to urgent changes in the late 20th century, as those on the left struggled to respond to social upheaval, globalisation and the rise of a new politics dominated by the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Roger Douglas
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Treasury troubles, strike money & growing grains of salt for polls
Reality forces limits. But expectations once created have to be managed. The government is learning that the hard way. Plus money for striking teachers and poll lessons
Read MoreGhahraman Derangement Syndrome? Here's some baby steps towards recovery
It is just impossible to dismiss the prejudice behind a lot of the criticism targeted at the rookie Green MP
Read MoreThree Christians walk into a bar... and none of them win election
Whether Coalition New Zealand is a Christian party or not (the Tamakis themselves are divided), the idea that they, the New Conservatives, an Alfred Ngaro-led vehicle or any religious party can get into parliament does not stand scrutiny
Read MoreThe Giddens Project: New Times, the Third Way and the future of politics
Across the globe, politics seems to be a battle between strongmen, populists and those eager to make socialism great again. But there is another way. A third way. And it's time not merely to resurrect ideas from the 1990s, but to reimagine them
Read MoreReeferedum thoughts
The Government's proposed model for the forthcoming referendum on marijuana legalisation isn't ideal. But the difference between it and the ideal really is pretty minimal.
Read MoreThe mysterious case of the door left open and the disappearing guns
There's no way to guarantee safety in an imperfect world, but you would hope to have confidence in the Police's ability to keep guns under lock and key. It seems not
Read MoreAnother chance to be transformational rejected... Labour's cautious welfare response
Big benefit increases and cutting sanctions have been recommended by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, yet the Labour-led government has rejected the groups call for urgency. So is it running out of ways to be transformational this term?
Read MoreThe impossibility of being Simon Bridges
It's not slushies or Judith Collins doing for Simon Bridges. The fact is that he was the longest of long shots when he took the reins and events tell us he'd need a miracle from here
Read MoreOwning a gun is a privilege: Firearms licences may need better checks & balances
I value the guns I own, but with ownership comes responsibility and it's reasonable to expect licences and those who enfore them to ensure the safety of all New Zealanders
Read MoreCGT: A bad idea finally put to bed once and for all
Labour came to the only logical conclusion, with a little help from its friends. A Capital Gains Tax was little more than scratching an itch of its voting base, but would have done little for the country and the government
Read MoreJacinda Ardern thuds back to earth thanks to NZF's 'carefully generated torpedo' (CGT)
A humiliating defeat for Jacinda Ardern and Labour on the Capital Gains Tax is a reminder of how political power works and where the struggle for that power – and next year's election – really lies. Peters has swung the tax axe, with impunity
Read MoreThe case for allowing aid in dying in New Zealand
Parliament's Health Committee couldn't decide on any major changes to the End of Life Choice Bill. That doesn't mean, however, that it won't be changed.
Read MorePhysician, heal thyself?
Parliament's Justice Committee thinks it would be wrong for courts to force people to say sorry if they say untrue things about judges. So why should Parliament be able to force people to say sorry if they say untrue things about MPs?
Read MoreWhy it might make sense to censor this 'manifesto'
At first blush the censorship of the Christchurch killer's document explaining the attacks may look like a serious intrusion on free speech. But context and content are everything
Read MoreGun law reform: Once again we don't how lucky we are
In other times and places, the right to bear arms has involved self-defence and the right to resist oppression. But changes to technology and laws mean even conservatives should be comfortable with where our politicians are going
Read MoreWhy we have a beef with the new anti-rustling laws, and perhaps you should too (2 of 2)
The Government created new anti-rustling criminal offences by adding them late in the law-making process, bypassing the normal process for public consultation. This post raises questions about the merits of the offences.
Read MoreWhy we have a beef with the new anti-rustling laws, and perhaps you should too (1 of 2)
The Government has created 2 new criminal offences aimed at cattle rustling. These have been generally well received. But there are reasons to be concerned, both about the laws themselves, and about the process by which they were made. This post focuses on what’s concerning about that, and is followed by another questioning the changes themselves.
Read MoreSimon Bridges, National and the Serious Fraud Office - what does it all mean?
The Police have referred their investigation into $100,000 in donations to the National Party to the Serious Fraud Office. It's hard to know just what that means, except that it's the quintissential political "bad look".
Read MoreWhether we're lowering the threshold or not – let's not lower our standards
Look at those Greens, trying to stack the deck to ensure they cling to power, eh? Except that argument makes little sense and stops us having a proper squiz at how we should run the country
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