Voting opens today in the most important election of 2026. And no, this is not the General Election. Read more
Imagine two paddocks at the edge of a city. They have the same soil and access to the same roads and pipes. Read more
For young people, contemplating career options can be bewildering. It can be hard even to know what opportunities are available. Read more
What is politics? According to Max Weber’s classic definition, politics is “a strong and slow boring of hard boards.” Having worked around politics for over two decades has given me a good idea of what Weber meant by that. Read more
New Zealand is barely a military power. It has had no combat aircraft for 25 years, and its ageing frigates need replacing. Read more
For practical purposes, not emitting a tonne of carbon dioxide is equivalent to pulling a tonne of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and securely sequestering it, so long as the accounting is sound. The Zero Carbon Act consequently requires net zero for greenhouse gases other than biogenic methane. Read more
Most news clips from Parliament are from Question Time. It is at least as much performance theatre as a mechanism for holding government to account. Read more
In November 2018, officials at Immigration New Zealand began work on replacing the ageing biometric systems that verify identities and manage immigration risk. Seven years later it was dead, having delivered no measurable benefit. Read more
No competent physician would prescribe a remedy for a symptom before determining its cause. Local Government Minister Simon Watts wants to cap council rates increases at 2 to 4 percent. Read more
This week, the government introduced legislation intended to protect youths from online harms. If the Bill passes, covered social media platforms will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to stop under-16s from having accounts. Platforms that do not do enough will risk large fines. Read more
Over the past couple of weeks, the two major parties have told us about their fiscal policies. Both promise to return the budget to surplus before the end of the decade. Read more
On Monday evening, I sat on a panel at Foxglove on Queens Wharf in Wellington, where I was expected to play the neoliberal villain. The Institute for Democratic and Economic Analysis is a think tank devoted to fighting poverty and political exclusion. Read more
I have always liked Iceland. My first visit was on a cruise ship in the mid-1990s. Read more
A fortnight ago, the government agreed a sale worth $702 million. Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop sold the loans the Crown made to Chorus to help build the ultrafast broadband network, for $60 million above book value. Read more
New Zealand is about to lose a German bread that was never German, and as the only German in the room, I have been invited to grieve. I will pass. Read more