Judith Collins plucks votes from the low hanging trees in the second leaders’ debate, but also makes promises she may live to regret
Read MoreA plucking good night for Judith Collins, but promises will be hard to deliver
PREFU: The State of Government Accounts
‘The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update’ (PREFU) tells us something about the future of the Public Sector but it requires careful analysis to assess how it is going.
Read MoreA rabbit-hole election debate: So do you want more avocado orchards?
The first Election 2020 leaders debate bounced from rabbit hole to rabbit hole, as a flat Jacinda Ardern and grinning Judith Collins fumbled their way though a contest that struggled to find a focus
Read MoreNotes about the 2020 Second Quarter GDP Figure
Much of the commentariat’s reporting of the most recent GDP figure was misleading and unhelpful.
Read MoreGreat Waves Washing Over New Zealand
Always to islanders danger
Is what comes over the seas
‘Landfall in Unknown Seas’ (Allen Curnow)
Six economic issues external to New Zealand, which will greatly impact upon us.
Read MoreDysfunctional Design
Windows 95 is famous for requiring the shutting down the system by clicking ‘start, like stopping your car by turning the ignition key on. Why are so many interfaces so user-unfriendly?
Read MoreLabour's tax trauma victims and how they might help the Greens
Labour’s come out as a lamb on tax policy but a lion on negotiations. Is its tentative tax policy really a bottomline? Has it given up on tax? And what does it mean for the Greens?
Read MoreThe Third World War
The standard trope of the war of the worlds is of extraterrestrial human-like aliens, perhaps from Mars, invading earth and waging an unrelenting war against its inhabitants. The source of Covid-19 is this earth and it is certainly not human-like. Even so, the entire earth is facing a universal invader which takes no prisoners. How have we responded to the new world war?
Read MoreThe naughty prefect & the 'single source of truth'
Greens leader James Shaw has been under the cosh for his Green School decision, but what's going on behind the scenes and will it cost votes? Social media rears it's sulky head, vaccination lies and debate over 'the single source of truth'. Plus, is Winston Peters in cabinet or not?
Read MoreWhither Nationalism?
The nation-state continues to thirve despite the pressures of globalisation and social diversity.
Read Moredon't let our youth go to waste
Why is it that someone magically is “old enough” to vote at 18, but not at 16? That’s something the High Court will have to consider over the next week.
Read MoreGovernment as an Unconnected Pronoun
Muddled thinking about how the government functions – or even what the government is – confuses public understandings of what is going on.
Read MoreTest Fail: Is Labour bordering on trouble?
National and New Zealand First have released border policies that try to out-tough each other as they seek to capitalise on Labour’s test failure. And why Jacinda Ardern’s two lines can’t both be true
Read MoreOn The Lockdown's Legality
The High Court has found New Zealand’s original level 4 and 3 lockdown was mostly legal - and the bits of it that weren’t really don’t matter that much. You could tell that was coming from the opening sentence of its decision.
Read MoreThe cannabis referendum: the case against legalisation
Dr James Farmer, a Queen’s Counsel, lays out the case against legalisation.
Read MoreMacroeconomic Questioning
The old ways of thinking about the macroeconomy have been found wanting, but the alternative is not clear.
Read MoreAnother big C week in politics: Community Covid, conspiracies & constitutional conventions
Labour won’t want to change the election day, but it’s going to get hard to resist if campaigns are delayed much longer. If National gets the gift of time, however, it will want to do better than seed conspiracies. From Caucus
Read MoreWhither New Zealand's September 19 election date?
The resurgence of COVID-19 raises real questions as to whether the September 19 election date will need to be changed. If it does, how can that happen?
Read MoreArdern's conservatism could be the very thing that keeps her flying high
Jacinda Ardern’s popularity means Labour is defying gravity as the election campaign kicks off. But it’s not through breaking the rules and doubling down on transformation… and her approach could be winning some surprising fans
Read MoreThis election is brought to you by the letter C
While Covid is the big C this election, you can also put character, campaign strategy and culture on the list of things to consider. And then there’s the return of Caucus
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