Something has gone badly wrong in the public service. From energy policy to financial regulation to education, ministers are too often advised by officials lacking the deep technical background their roles demand. Read more

Finance Minister Nicola Willis described last week’s meeting with Fonterra’s chief executive as “routine.” But routine meetings do not usually begin with public promises that a CEO will “front up” over pricing. Nor do they require clarification in Parliament, a prime-time media round, and a CEO pursued up the steps of Parliament by a television news crew. Read more

Imagine asking your accountant to explain their calculations – and they respond by demanding triple their fee and warning you will be embarrassed by what they find. That is roughly what happened when New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was asked about new transparency requirements. Read more

Supreme Court Matters: Revolution by Judicial Decree A Review of Professor Peter Watts KC’s “Ellis v R: A Revolution in Aotearoa New Zealand, Welcome or Not” Revolutions conjure images of violent uprisings, the storming of institutions, and the forcible overthrow of existing orders. But constitutional foundations can be destroyed through more subtle means. Read more

The Netherlands has long been Europe’s model of commercial pragmatism. Its business leaders built their fortunes on free trade, open markets, and meticulous efficiency. Read more

Rotterdam's port moves 460 million tonnes of cargo each year. That is roughly equivalent to shifting the entire population of Earth sixty times over. Read more

The New Zealand Law Society’s new report, Strengthening the Rule of Law in Aotearoa New Zealand, runs to more than eighty pages, includes seventy-eight recommendations, and reflects a considerable investment of time and goodwill. Its aims are noble: to bolster constitutional integrity, improve access to justice, and promote respect for the rule of law. Read more

This year, the Government will spend nearly $190 billion. Yet we know remarkably little about whether those billions represent value-for-money. Read more

Few ideas haunt economic debate as relentlessly as “trickle-down.” Perhaps it’s the appeal of attacking something that no one has ever argued. The theory supposedly claims that making the rich richer benefits everyone as wealth “trickles down.” It sounds plausible and feels unfair – making it the perfect villain. Read more

In November 2023, Ayaan Hirsi Ali stunned many of her long-time admirers by announcing her conversion to Christianity. “We can’t counter Islamism with purely secular tools,” she explained. Read more

New Zealand’s economy has a chronic capital problem – and it is getting worse. Over the last 50 years, New Zealand has become one of the most undercapitalised economies in the developed world. Read more

Auckland Council has confirmed what many suspected: in most of the city centre, 20 storeys is quite tall enough. We wouldn’t want to frighten ourselves into looking like a real city. Read more

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a $400 million Boeing 747 from a foreign monarchy — accepted by the US Department of Defense for presidential use, then slated for retirement on the tarmac in full flight readiness at the future former president’s pleasure. Read more

Next week’s Budget is Nicola Willis’s opportunity to prove the government means business about restoring fiscal discipline. Treasury’s long-term models are flashing red. Read more

Donald Trump returned to power with America’s highly politicised universities squarely in his sights. Within weeks of his inauguration, his administration launched a sweeping campaign targeting dozens of institutions nationwide. Read more