Running away from a problem will rarely solve it. No matter how fast you run, sooner or later the problem will catch up with you. Read more

At the beginning of 2017, New Zealand finds itself probably in the best position it has been in for decades. Key figures like economic growth, unemployment and inflation show a country in great shape. Read more

Everyone is familiar with the idea of keeping up with the Joneses. It comes from an early 20th century American comic strip featuring the social-climbing McGinis family and their struggle to keep up with their more affluent neighbours, the Joneses. Read more

When assessing John Key’s legacy, context is critical. Key came into office in late 2008 in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Read more

“Regulation above all else” is exactly what ridesharing wunderkind Uber must feel as it faces up to select committee hearings in Wellington this month. Despite promises of a new regulatory framework that recognises the role of global technology in improving safety and consumer protection, the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Transport have fallen well short. Read more

Equipping today’s students with the skills needed for tomorrow’s jobs is perhaps the 21st century’s greatest challenge. But how confident are we that our tertiary education sector can innovate to meet the future needs of students? Read more

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, the tyrannical state develops an artificial language called Newspeak to align thought and action with the ideology of the Party. Its aim is to entrench the tyranny of the Party by making other modes of thought impossible. Read more

It is said that if something is not broken you should not try to fix it. Fair enough. Read more

Some of the most admired New Zealanders have achieved success getting high. Many have been addicted to it, and self-confessedly so. Read more

We are all familiar with nightmares. They can be terrifying. Read more

As you read this, our teachers’ unions are preparing for war. For the first time in history they are planning meetings of 60,000 teachers, nationwide, during school hours. Read more

In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s 1818 classic, Victor Frankenstein claims to have created his monster for the betterment of humankind. Of course, Frankenstein’s undertaking proved more arrogant conceit than utopian undertaking. Read more

Thank goodness for Auckland City’s urban planners. Although the rest of us are unable to see past Auckland’s housing crisis, it is reassuring that they remain committed to a loftier vision. Read more

In New York City, a bottle placed on the curbside for recycling can find its way back into a convenience store, relabeled and refilled, within thirty days. In Auckland City, a bottle’s destiny is not so enduring. Read more

With regulations in Auckland controlling the minimum size of new apartments and requiring all newly built apartments to have balconies, is it time to move outside to the gardens? When more and more junk food is thrust upon us each day, it has never been so important for tenants and home owners alike to have access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Read more