If improved financial regulations wont prevent crashes, what is the point of them?
Read MoreDemocracy is Not Just Voting
The Way the Voting is Organised Matters Too.
Read MoreHeart of Darkness in the public sector
The extent of spying by several public sector agencies goes to a worrying lack of public service at the heart of our public service
Read MoreThe Census Flop
We have known since last May that the March 2018 Population Census is badly flawed. Does it matter? What can be done?
Read MoreThe Unprepared
That our bureaucrats failed to be prepared for a new government, is an indication of deeper problems.
Read MoreProtecting the umpire
Did you know that Parliament could imprison you for saying that Trevor Mallard is biased in favour of Jacinda Ardern over Simon Bridges? But it (almost certainly) won't.
Read MoreGavin Hawthorn: send him to (drug) court, but not to prison
Since Gavin Hawthorn was sent to prison for ten years in 2003, over 5,000 people have died on New Zealand roads - at an average of 360 a year. That's almost one a day. Commentators calling for him to be sent to prison again are missing the point.
Read MoreCan we save the planet without a revolution?
The short answer is no; the long answer requires an explanation of what form that revolution will take.
Read MoreBrexit or Bust?
Brexit illustrates the challenges of economic independence and interdependence.
Read MoreThe Fourth Freedom
We need to rethink our strategy towards migrants.
Read MoreEvery election is determined by the people who show up
It seems NZ referenda are a bit like Wellington buses - you wait ages for one to come along, and then three arrive all at once.
Read MoreIf Jacinda Ardern wants inspiration on Brady & China, she can look to Khashoggi & Trump
The open letter to Jacinda Ardern to show some spine over alleged crimes against Anne-Marie Brady feels vital in the face of a less than urgent response thus far. The professor was only a mechanic away from being another Jamal Khashoggi or Fernando Pereira
Read MoreVanilla, Neapolitan and Hokey-pokey Financials
How prepared are we for the next international financial crisis?
Read MoreOf Memory and Forgetting
We need to learn what happens when public spending is repressed. It does not lead to efficiency gains. Sometimes the consequences are disastrous.
Read MoreIs Increasing Inequality of Wealth Inevitable?
Walter Scheidel’s The Great Leveler says that it is – almost.
Read MoreMissing the point of Te Reo Māori
If our Courts don’t get the point of a mihi, then will they get what is really being said in arguments over mana whenua or tangihanga practices? Or, why appearances in Te Reo are more than a question of linguistic choice.
Read MoreWhat If We Are On Our Own?
How prepared are we for the next international economic or financial crisis?
Read MoreShould Porkers Rule OK?
A new book extends the challenge of how to have a decent society for all. We can do better.
Read MoreIts not the justice system that's broken - its the political system
The Justice Advisory Board appointed by Andrew Little says it will take a generation to transform the system. So with New Zealand's three year election cycle, Little needs to get on with it
Read MoreDon't give me culture - the question of character
As a practical people we have been well served by a focus on policy and outcomes. But the Jami-Lee Ross controversies raise the question, 'how much does character and integrity matter?'
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