It’s hard to have a reasonable debate today. So, hats off to the Initiative team on your 10th birthday for always being up for a fight.

I have fought with you on TV, radio, Twitter, and in the newspapers. We’ve rumbled over wages, housing, taxes, immigration. And like ‘mouth-ey’ street fighters who refuse to stop even when the crowds have gone, we’ve kept the punches going on email.

Your evidence challenges me. I’ve even changed my mind a few times. Maybe you have, too.

We need the disruption of think tanks like yours. Where else can we have a decent argument these days?

The Initiative deserves its reputation for good debate, and for reaching out to the unlike-minded as well as the like-minded. In our era of conformity, you stand out.

The more serious the issue these days, the shallower the public debate – and the less reasonable the conversation. Motives get attacked rather than arguments. Attack the long-term viability of our Covid elimination policy in 2020, for example, and you were accused of wanting to kill off grandma.

This is a play right out of Stalin’s book (as Russia is on our minds right now). Stalin successfully replaced all discussion involving arguments and evidence with the question of motive. “Ukrainians don’t want to be Russian? Well, they would say that – they’re Neo-Nazis,” says the modern-day Stalinist, Putin.

If our government had encouraged dissenting voices on how we managed Covid when it inevitably arrived, we might not have had the shambles of Auckland lockdowns, confiscated RATs, and the muddle of moving dates for open borders.

Stifling debate leads to bad solutions. Or at least you’ve got no way of knowing if they’re good or bad. Unity is too often valued over dissent.

Of course, no one wants endless fighting. Some issues, once aired, are resolved. Move on. We debated homosexual law reform, then agreed to change the law. End of story. Whether humans are warming the climate is not a debate we need to have. We are. It’s a fact.

But we do need debate on how best to deal with climate change. Yet, good luck having that exchange of ideas on Twitter.

So, happy birthday to you, New Zealand Initiative. Let’s continue to be intolerant of intolerance, and disagree without denouncing.

After all, we’re just trying to have a reasonable conversation.

Which reminds me of a story I heard. A woman looking for wisdom delves into the ancient books, and finds two respected elders at loggerheads, with opposing views. “Dear God, who is right?” she asks. “Both of them,” replies God. “But they can’t both be right?”

“Ahh,” says God. “Actually, all three of you are right.”

Josie Pagani is a Stuff columnist, who has worked in politics, aid and development.