The first principle of medicine is “do no harm”. It should be the first principle of economic policy too, especially heading into an election year. Read more
Newly appointed Royal Commission of Inquiry chair, Professor Tony Blakely, says he is happy with the terms of reference for his inquiry. But should we be? Read more
Parliament monopolised the attention of public and constitutional law experts late last month. And for good reason. Read more
In 2017, when Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s Prime Minister, she set out to transform policy-making. Her administration was meant to be the most open, honest, and transparent in history. Read more
When Auckland topped the Global Liveability Index in 2021, something seemed wrong. The report's authors had clearly never tried to buy a house in the City of Sails. Read more
There’s a fundamental arbitrariness to almost any voting age. Except one. Read more
This morning’s newspapers carried a full-page open letter from 42,576 signatories pointing out how undemocratic is one aspect of the Government’s three waters legislation. The Government’s Bill confiscates local communities’ investment in water assets without compensation, and wrecks their future governance. Read more
At the risk of losing a few readers in this first paragraph, let’s start with a quote by a lawyer. To make it worse: by a German judge. Read more
There are years in which little happens. Then there are years in which everything seems to happen at once. Read more
On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 0.75 percentage points (pp) to 4.25%. This isn’t surprising given that inflation has reached a 30-year high of 7.2%, but is it too little too late? Read more
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence. Even still, it is hard to see how policy could be less friendly to entry by grocers like Aldi or Lidl if it were intentional. Read more
According to Greek legend, the Chimera was a monstrous fire-breathing creature with three heads. It is usually depicted as a lion with the head of a goat protruding from its back and a tail with the head of a snake. Read more
A funny thing happened in the Supreme Court this week. The Court found that the Bill of Rights breached… the Bill of Rights. Read more
Is it enough to have good intentions? Or is it better to focus on the outcomes of one’s actions? Read more
History is replete with war motivated by religious disagreement. One example is the centuries-long clash between the Catholic and Protestant variants of Christianity. Read more
