‘Iwi leaders and the Government have agreed on a deadline to sort out Maori interests in fresh water by Waitangi Day 2016.’ (News: 5 February 2015)
Read MoreAll those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain
Canada's Supreme Court just announced that Canadians do not have a duty to live. Why do New Zealanders?
Read MoreWhy does one symbol matter, but another does not?
John Key thinks our colonial flag is an outdated symbol that needs replacing. So why is our relationship with the Monarchy any different?
Read MoreWhy it's OK the coach can't go to the [basket]ball
The rules were pretty clear and the ethnic sports tournament hardly unprecidented, so why the fuss about the Maori Basketball tournament? Is this Waitangi fever?
Read More"A trying operation under the influence of chloroform"
Handing someone a "Vote United Future" pamphlet on election day is an offence that can get you fined $20,000. Why is that, and should it be so?
Read MoreNothing takes the place of a great teacher
Online learning is not the solution it was touted to be. You just can't beat real-life interaction with a great teacher
Read MoreJust Do It
Policy announcements do not always reflect careful analysis. Too often the unstated political considerations have too much influence.
Read MorePutting Eleanor Catton among the pigeons
We need to go further than just defending Eleanor Catton's right to an opinion, we need to encourage her for doing her job
Read MoreHow Shallow is Intellectual Life in New Zealand?
It is not what Eleanor Catton said about the government, but how we respond to what she said.
Read MoreTheme of the Traitor and the Hero
How do you think the kind of society that Eleanor Catton described in her (now infamous) interview would react to someone like Eleanor Catton saying such things in an interview?
Read MoreState of the Nation II - John Key
John Key took social housing head on in his first big speech of the year and in doing so raised the ideological politics of ownership, trying to cast it in a new light
Read MoreState of the Nation I - Andrew Little
Andrew Little kicked off the political year proper with his state of the nation address this morning, and it emphasised that Labour is under new management
Read MoreTilting at Helensvilles' windmills
Could John Key's place in Parliament be under threat from Arthur Taylor's electoral petition? No ... no it couldn't.
Read MoreThe Matter With Economics?
Jeff Madrick identifies seven bad economic ideas; Alan Blinder is more cautious. What do economists actually believe, and how does it stack up against what we think economics says?
Read MoreHow high can you go?
Rules that stop you using your property as you see fit are bad. Rules that stop other people using their property ... are less so.
Read MoreTreating Capital Gains Efficiently
What might a non-ideological capital gains tax look like?
Read MoreThe Ombudsman, Corrections and 'unnatural deaths' in prison
A letter written by the Chief Ombudsman reveals disturbing questions about its relationship with the Corrections Department
Read MoreAnd whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire
The Justice and Electoral Committee will soon be reviewing the 2014 general election. Here's the first of my thoughts on what it might profitably look at.
Read MoreAfter Charlie Hebdo: What happens next?
We've seen how ordinary citizens around the world have responded to the Charlie Hedbo terrorism, but how will world leaders react? Is marching enough or is it time for troops?
Read MoreCentralisation and Decentralisation.
Do We Need Larger Local Authorities or Ones More in Touch with the Localities?
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