OPINION

After six years of a Labour-led Government, the newly sworn-in Government’s policies were always going to shock its opponents. Despite the centre-left and the centre-right parties all pitching their policies to the median voter, profound philosophical differences divide them. Read more

The Coalition Agreement between National and ACT includes a commitment to pass the “Regulatory Standards Act as soon as practicable”. How fast is that? Read more

Are you suffering from post-election fatigue? Did you feel the whole campaign was overly long and protracted, and a little boring? Read more

New Zealand’s infrastructure is under intense scrutiny. From Three Waters to Cyclone Gabrielle, from ruptured pipes in Wellington to growing traffic congestion in Auckland, vulnerabilities in New Zealand’s infrastructure network are glaringly apparent. Read more

Those of you who remember your school days and those who currently have kids at school, may be aware of streaming – the practice of separating students into classes based on their stage of learning. Streaming is very common in our secondary schools. Read more

The incoming government has been entrenched in drawn-out coalition negotiations. Across the table from National Party leader Christopher Luxon sit the leaders of two minor parties, both basking in the now-fading glow of recent electoral successes, eagerly eyeing their slices of the economic pie. Read more

Writing about European affairs for a New Zealand audience may seem, at first glance, a bit of a strange pastime. What happens in European domestic politics rarely seems to matter down here. Read more

When Wellington Airport installed licence plate readers to streamline parking and passenger pickup and drop-off, it did not have to beg Wellington City Council to find room in the council’s 10-year plan for funding. Though partially council-owned, the Airport funds its own operations out of its own revenues and makes its own decisions. Read more

Many readers will remember being in streamed classes at school. Perhaps you were in a top English class but a lower maths class. Read more

One of my grad school professors recommended Yes, Minister for better understanding the British public service. The series was superb. Read more

The outcome of New Zealand’s recent coalition negotiations marks only the beginning of the next three years of government. But the principles and policies outlined in the agreements suggest the country now has a reformist administration ready to rebuild the economy, refine regulations, and expand choice in social services. Read more

Real work begins for the new Government Whatever way you look at it, 2023 has been a long slog for the centre-right parties now trying to seal a coalition deal. The election campaign was unusually long. Read more

The same supervolcano that provides one of the country’s bigger sources of catastrophic risk could well prove part of the answer to one of the country’s bigger problems on the path to 2050. It also helps to illustrate one of the problems in New Zealand’s approach to planning for net zero. Read more

Everyone has a story: where they come from, what they believe in, what they strive for. Such self-mythologies can have powerful effects when they are based on positive values. Read more

We reserved this space in today’s newsletter to congratulate the new Government on taking office. If we have to wait another week or two, then so be it. Read more