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
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Have We Abandoned the Egalitarian Society?
Inequality is not confined to income and wealth; it is in our healthcare and education systems. Is Labour trying to reverse the trend?
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 MoreDo Regions Matter?
If we really are serious about regional wellbeing, we may be pursuing it in the wrong way.
Read MoreAre We Too Slack?
Far too much policy is driven by mañana: when tomorrow comes we panic.
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 MoreWe need to understand hate to defeat it, not ignore it
When something wicked this way comes, what do you do? I hope in time we can make space for study and understanding. Let's find the courage to look at where the hate came from and counter it with facts and truth as well as compassion.
Read MoreBanning Jordan Peterson book inconsistent, but not anti-freedom
Whitcoulls has caused something of a furore by taking Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life off its shelves. How much should we worry when books start to be censored?
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 MoreThe rocks we carry
The mosque attacks are weighing heavy on our hearts, but grief is not the only rock we carry. We must look hard at ourselves, our communities, our history, our bigotry and - if we are all us - face it all
Read MoreThe “no true Kiwi” fallacy – and how to avoid it
You commit the “no true Kiwi” fallacy by insisting that bigotry isn’t the real Kiwi way. Doing so isn’t just flawed reasoning, it ignores those for whom bigotry is a very real part of their lives. Instead: listen, re-examine, aspire, and be a helper.
Read MoreKinds of Protests
On Friday March 15, there were two major protests – school students concerned about the future, a terrorist facing toward the past. What are we to think?
Read MoreIf Brenton Tarrant is a terrorist, why hasn't he been charged as one?
The person accused of the Christchurch mosque attacks, Brenton Tarrant, has been called a terrorist. Why then hasn't he been charged with being one?
Read MoreAfter the terror, fear must not win
As we start to wrestle with the pain and lessons of this heart-rending act of terror in Christchurch, let us not fall into the trap of being driven by fear and ignorance. Because that's how this all began
Read MoreOn the night of the shootings: A prayer for Christchurch
The unspeakable evil of the day when lives were stolen.
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 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 MoreUp in the Clouds
New calculations suggest that the farm sector is not adding as much to the greenhouse gas clouds as previously thought. But there remains the challenge of global warming which farmers must still take up.
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".
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