Existing legal and institutional concepts do not serve Māori organisations well. What needs to change?
Read MoreScoring Carbon Emissions.
A powerful social law suggests we often explain or do things the wrong way. This may be particularly true when we try to address Global Warming.
Read MoreWhere it is not necessary to change... take a seat
History doesn't always go in one direction, so why rush to abolish the Maori seats?
Read MoreRules of engagement: think of the children
Here's a rule for how you might – and might not – debate politics online. Ask yourself if youd say it in front of someone's children
Read MoreImproving the Child Poverty Reduction Bill
Extract from submission to a Select Committee of Parliament (Social Services and Community Committee).
Read MoreThe Budget whodunnit?
Two weeks out, Labour is positioning its first budget as a noble quest story in which it saves the nation from under-funding whilst also being super-responsible. But with questions about how it will try match its spending to its rhetoric, it feels more like a plot-twisting mystery
Read MoreThe death of one man is a tragedy; the annihilation of half the universe a statistic
Don't read this if you have not seen Avengers: Infinity War and/or hate spoilers. Heed this warning because there will be no others... Otherwise, enjoy some pretentious reflections on a bash 'em up blockbuster
Read MoreSquaring the Budget Circle
Should the government borrow more, spend more, tax more?
Read MoreHow Open an Economy?
Does Trump’s toying with the US rejoining the TPP mean anything?
Read MoreWhere did it algo wrong? The threat and promise of predictive analytics
Attitudes to 'artificial intelligence' and predictive algorithms seem to oscillate between hype and hysteria. The true picture is a good deal more mixed, but as more examples of predictive analytics in government come to light, it's time for some proper oversight.
Read MoreOil be alright. But has Labour learnt the wrong lesson from its past?
Jacinda Ardern has drawn on our national pride in New Zealand's nuclear-free stance to rally support for her decision to end offshore oil drilling. But her announcement has echoes of Douglas and Prebble as much as Lange and Palmer
Read MoreTax isn't love, it's resentment
Rather than embracing tax like a beloved cuddly toy, we should pay it kicking and screaming and we'll be the better for it if we do.
Read MoreThen they came for the Ballet Teachers… (or did they?)
An Attorney-General's Report that says a Government-supported Bill is an unjustifiable restriction on freedom of expression, claims of a ban on the phrase "ballet teacher", none of which turns out to be that exciting after all (probably).
Read MoreDo You Trust Your Community?
The history of licensing trusts leads to questions about the importance of communities to us. Will they survive?
Read MoreBehind Middlemore's rotten walls are even bigger problems
Whatever your view of current health funding, the Counties Manukau DHB's failure to sound the alarm is a dereliction of duty. What's more, there is a solution to the funding issues
Read MoreA Big Change in Monetary Policy?
The Government’s new arrangements with the Reserve Bank represent an explicit acknowledgement of a major shift in theoretical underpinnings; whether it makes much change to the Bank’s operations is another matter.
Read MorePlaying political dress-up – Party leaders still trying on their new roles
Four of New Zealand's five most senior politicians are now under 45 and one the most notable features of this term so far is the sight of party leaders struggling to exercise power and to come to terms with the big jobs
Read MoreHigh Noon in the Economic Development select committee room ...
What narrative emerged from Radio NZ's bosses revisiting the Economic Development select committee room? Nothing definitive ... but there's more to come yet, I think.
Read MoreGluckman: chief science advisor says the NZ media have been flogging fake news for 20 years
The chief science advisor to the Prime Minister has just issued a damning commentary on the way in which the media presents 'information' about crime and punishment in New Zealand
Read MoreResponsibility and Policy
Are we too relaxed about those who promote policy failure?
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