What is the Three Waters Restructuring Actually About?
Read MoreCorporatising the Water Infrastructure
The hole in the vaccine mandate
The government is introducing a vaccine mandate which will cover much of the work force. There’s a hole: an unclear provision for exemptions is probably wider in scope that the Ministry of Health seems to think.
Read MoreNobel Thinking About Wages
An introductory economics course student is likely to meet the above graph. It shows that if the minimum wage (in purple) is above the point where the labour supply curve (in red) and labour demand curve (in blue) cross there will be less employment. That is what students are taught. But research shows the world does not work that way.
Read MoreGovernment must learn from mask exemption mess
As the Government moves to make vaccination compulsory in more and more situations, it should learn from the problems associated with the already existing mask mandate.
Read MoreVaccinating the Underclass
If we want to minimise the impact of the Covid virus we are going to have to think about social class.
Read MoreThe Picnic Period: A sign of our Covid times
Picnics have come to symbolise many things about life in Auckland right now - they are a blessing and a curse, a political masterstroke and a retreat. Now they need to be the start of something more
Read MoreAbstraction and Reality in Economics
Sometimes high theory loses the human point of the exercise.
Read MoreForced Re-entry
The elimination of Covid strategy is not so much defeated but changing circumstances means that policy has to evolve.
Read MoreAUKUS deal closes one nuclear window, but could open other doors
The new AUKUS pact leaves New Zealand on the outside with its traditional allies. But that means there’s a chance to build new alliances in Africa, based on shared values such as nuclear-free policies and the Commonwealth
Read MoreWhat Happened under Rogernomics and Ruthanasia?
A Rogernome Defends the Policies.
Read MoreACC and birth injuries - a change all to the good?
The Government plans to expand ACC to cover some birth injuries. That’s good. But it’s doing it in a daft way.
Read MoreThere can be only one... reason Collins is still in her job
Looking back to this point in the last political cycle, you see Labour tearing itself apart and fighting for the future of the party. National is facing the same crisis, but no-one seems to want to lead
Read MoreLibertarians, Neoliberals, Ordoliberals and Economists.
Not all neoliberals are the same, as a comparison ranging from Don Giovanni to Geneva School ordoliberals shows.
Read MoreBig Challenges for the Government
A short review of the policy issues that Labour is facing and the ministers undertaking them.
Read MoreThe 'team of five million' isn't all of us. Are we doing enough for the others?
The way we’ve implemented our Covid-19 strategy has come at a high price for a lot of New Zealanders… so are we doing enough now to say thanks and show kindness to Kiwis trapped offshore? And what more could we do?
Read MoreLiberal-Conservatives and Social Democrats: The Future of Māori
Michael Cullen set out his political philosophy in his autobiography. So has Chris Finlayson. His is having significant impact on Māori development.
Read MoreWhy not just send the Auckland terrorist back?
Why don’t we just change our laws to make it easier to send people like the Auckland terrorist back to where they came from? Well, it may not actually be that easy.
Read MoreAre We Undermining Science’s Credibility?
Perhaps one of the reasons for vaccination hesitancy is that we are too casual about what constitutes science.
Read MoreAfter 20 years in Afghanistan, 'a little revenge' has done immeasurable damage
President Joe Biden has declared the war in Afghanistan over, but the 20-year legacy of bitter fruit will remain on our tongues for many years yet. The price for America’s “little revenge” has been paid by us all and we will keep paying it
Read MoreTo do a great right do a little wrong
Police action to enforce lockdown rules is necessary. Police enforcement of uncertain rules can be overzealous. Both of these things can be true at once.
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