It's a new year and we're all getting back to work. One of the things you have to add to your "to do" list in the next fortnight is be a good democratic citizen.
Read MoreWhyte is wrong that claims on poverty are misleading
Jamie Whyte claims that poverty statistics based on relative measures of poverty are misleading. I explain why his argument is unpersuasive.
Read MoreNew Years' Resolution: How to save the planet
Want to save the world this Christmas? The best way may not be what you think... and may not involve giving up meat
Read MoreDecember Dump: The list I shouldn't have to write
All I want for Christmas? Sure, less bad sing-alongs, but mostly I want less cynical politics than the December Dump we've seen this year
Read MoreMr Wilson's adventures in legal wonderland
Why turn to fiction for mind-bending exercises in logical absurdity? The real world of the courts provide much stranger fare.
Read MoreParis, the conclusion: climate changer or puff pastry?
After the applause has died down, will the Paris Agreement do enough to keep global temperatures down, fund emission reductions in developing countries and hold nations to account?
Read MoreNo Victoria, the machines aren’t taking our jobs
Making Quality Judgements
A book on the history of the Literary Fund raises broad questions of how our bureaucracy works.
Read MoreBrief notes on the first flag referendum
So the first round of the flag referendum is done (bar the formal tidying up). What, if anything, does it tell us?
Read More2015: 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 MoreLetter from Paris: How ministers need to lift their game in week 2
In his second post from Paris, Barry Coates says the current deal before ministers is not good enough to keep temperature increases below 2 degrees and spells out what's missing
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 MoreA Return To ‘Think Big’?
The strange economic assessment of the proposed extension to Wellington Airport’s runway reduces to a plea for subsidies from tax and ratepayers.
Read MoreLetter from Paris: Trust & ambition in week 1
Long-time climate campaigner and Green candidate Barry Coates writes from negotiations at Paris to explain NZ's role and what's really happening behind the scenes
Read MoreWhadarya?
The Ethnic Future for New Zealand Is Unknown. But It Will Be Diverse and Different
Read MoreMy 2 cents on the Jarrod Gilbert affair ...
A quick note to the NZ Police. You don't own all the information on your computers or in your files - and if academics want to see it, you have to let them do so without imposing conditions. Most of the time, anyway!
Read MoreIs Our Economics Good Enough?
A report on social services by the Productivity Commission raises serious problems about the quality of analysis in New Zealand.
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 More