Ahead of New Zealand’s 2017 election, I floated the idea of a grand coalition between National and Labour in a few columns. The circumstances back then made it appealing. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with Roger Partridge about the Government’s decision to legislate to stop the Smith v Fonterra climate change case. They discuss why Parliament was right to step in after the Supreme Court reinstated a claim the Court of Appeal had unanimously struck out, the causation problems at the heart of the case, and why media claims of an attack on judicial independence get New Zealand’s constitutional order backwards. Read more
Local government is hard to defend. Rates are rising at more than three times inflation. Read more
Mike Smith, the climate activist suing six of New Zealand’s largest companies over greenhouse gas emissions, is unhappy. On Tuesday, the Government announced it will amend the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to stop cases like his and others like it. Read more
Centralisation has been New Zealand's answer to local government's problems for decades. It has not worked. Read more
The name ‘Einstein’ is synonymous with intelligence. More than 70 years after the physicist’s death, if someone is called an Einstein, everyone knows they are incredibly smart. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 This submission on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation)Amendment Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellingtonbased think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
This week, the Government moved to reassert Parliament’s authority over the courts. Two years ago, in Smith v Fonterra, the Supreme Court revived a climate change claim the Court of Appeal had unanimously struck out. Read more
There’s always been a tension in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. The Act’s object has two parts. Read more
A bar in a rough neighbourhood has a few viable options. It can have a strict doorman checking every patron to make sure they suit the vibe the bar is trying to create. Read more
In 2013, Scottish teacher Tom Bennett realised that his training had not well prepared him for the classroom. He had not even been taught basic classroom management skills. Read more
A German economist writing satire about New Zealand sounds like the opening line of a bad joke. The joke gets longer when you learn the plot: two Martian auditors land in the Wairarapa expecting humanity at its best, are promptly fined for parking without consent, and proceed on a reluctant tiki tour of the country in the company of a Wellington bureaucrat named Ben, who has quietly decided his career is over and he may as well help them. Read more
In this episode, Michael talks to Oliver Hartwich about his new satirical novella The Martian Audit, in which two alien auditors arrive in New Zealand to assess it for invasion, only to find themselves defeated not by weapons but by the country's regulation and bureaucracy. There are no villains, just a country full of friendly people trapped in systems that don't work, from leaky homes and hospital waiting rooms to view shafts you can't legally stop to admire. Read more
Treasury projects public health spending will rise from 7.1 to 10 per cent of GDP by 2065. Over the same period, the ratio of working-age taxpayers to superannuitants will halve. Read more
The Martian Audit is a satirical novella. Two Martian auditors land in the Wairarapa expecting to assess humanity at its best. Read more