The announcement by Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford that they will be parents this year for the first time suggests a Rubicon is about to be crossed. Some progress has been made toward women being able to be mothers and in paid employment but there is some way to go. Given Ardern and Gayford's prominence they may be about to make the tectonic plates of our society shift.
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Contingency and Jim (1938-2018)
A review of some critical decisions in Jim Anderton’s life reminds us of just how contingent politics can be.
Read MoreIs Jacinda a Marxist?
The editor-in-chief of The Lancet said she is
Read MoreWho controls the past now, controls the future
Should NZ reintroduce legislation requiring MPs that leave their parties to also quit Parliament? The debate over that question involves a battle over what happened in the past.
Read MoreJim Anderton's political legacy... & his final win
Jim Anderton has died at a time when the party he fought for, then walked out on, looks more like him than it does his erstwhile opponents.
Read MoreCelebrating New Zealand’s Independent Republics.
How big does a country have to be?
Read MoreThe Fallacy of the Uninformed Celebrity Opinion
Too much of our public discussion is led by those who are have strong opinions based on prejudice and ignorance rather than thorough research and understanding
Read MoreWhat is New with the HYEFU?
December’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) was combined with the Government’s plans for its first 100 days.
Read MoreA snaking line of humanity that NZ can be proud of
What kind of New Zealand might we see in 20 years? Well I saw a snaking line recently and rather than having a nightmarish premonition, I was filled with hope
Read MoreMike Hosking: You do the crime, you do the time
So Mike Hosking has stuck his lower lip out over the BSA ruling against him. But his column attacking the standards body has wider ramifications than just him and his mistake
Read MoreMoko: The first thing we need to do to save lives is...
Oranga Tamariki has a new name, but the same problems and, as we saw in Coroner William Bain's report this week, the same failings. But there is a way to make a difference
Read MoreSocial Investment is Fashionable at the Moment.
But do we have the foggiest idea of what it means or how to do it well?
Read MoreMini-Budget needs to light a fire under 'the optional government'
Incumbency is the super power every politician craves, yet this oddly muted new Labour-led government doesn't seem to have figured out how to use it yet. This week's mini-Budget is now crucial if it wants to position itself as a truly transformational government
Read MoreIs Another Global Fiscal Crisis Imminent?
So claims Niall Ferguson, professor of history at Harvard.
(These are notes prepared for a Radio New Zealand ‘Nights’ Pundits conversation with Bryan Crump. Tuesday 12 December 2017.)
Read MoreOpinion is killing journalism
The 'little men' of the modern media are dragging down a once respected profession because they lack the courage to maintain the standards journalists once held dear
Read MoreWhat is Central Banking Really About?
The retirement of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand leads to a reflection on what has been really going on.
Read MoreTrade Deals are about Winners AND Losers
Comparative advantage is rarely important in modern trade deals, such as TPP11 (CPTPP). Why bother?
Read MoreWe're getting the band back together!
Nostalgia acts are all the rage right now. The Golriz Ghahraman story gives us a chance to revisit the good old pre-2014 days of Dirty Politics.
Read MoreWhy does Don Brash think it is so important that we are one people?
Hearing the use of the Maori language on mainstream media during Maori Language Week provoked Don Brash to again demand that we be "one people" united in our Britishness. No doubt there are many people who agree with him. But is the tide of history leading to a more diverse society and is Maori language and culture becoming part of all of our lives?
Read MoreContra Quin: Ghahraman still did nothing wrong
Phil Quin says Golriz Ghahraman's time working for defendants in Rwandan war crimes trials deserves our condemnation. I don't think he's established the basis for such a claim.
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