Commercial regulatory agencies wield enormous power. They can take away a business’s licence to operate. Read more

Yesterday’s budget was not the only budget in town. It followed hot on the heels of Climate Change Minister James Shaw’s announcement on Monday of the Government’s $2.9 billion Emissions Reduction Plan. Read more

New Zealand’s border settings continue to confound. In November last year, even the cautious Ministry of Health advised the Government that MIQ no longer served any useful purpose. Read more

American businessman Bert Lance is credited with popularising the phrase, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Lee served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter. He would have scratched his head at Labour back-bencher Duncan Webb’s Companies (Directors Duties) Amendment Bill. Read more

A week is not just a long time in politics. It is a long time for democracy. Read more

They may not know it, but unsuspecting Kiwis will soon be protected from unregistered log traders and forestry advisers. What a relief that should be. Read more

Is a van driver who delivers shopping ordered online a member of the transport industry or the retail industry? Either way, why would you want to know? Read more

Double jeopardy is a defence that prevents a person being tried twice for the same offence. Unfortunately for the Government, the defence is not available for bad public policy decisions. Read more

The future is notoriously hard to forecast. Just dial the clock back two years and try finding an expert predicting a year after the start of the pandemic that New Zealand would be suffering labour shortages. Read more

Two years ago, the coronavirus pandemic took most of the world by surprise. Twenty-four months later, Russia's invasion of Ukraine caught us equally off-guard. Read more

Flushed with success from restricting the distribution of Rapid Antigen Tests, the Ministry of Health is considering regulating other 'at home' medical testing devices. "The household thermometer is an obvious candidate," Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said. Read more

Since last week’s announcement, Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s proposed social unemployment insurance has been criticised across the political divide. Some complaints relate simply to timing. Read more