Written language came to humanity relatively recently. Modern homo sapiens have walked the earth for at least 100,000 years. Read more
At the formation of new governments, it has become an element of German political kitsch to quote from Hermann Hesse’s poem ‘Steps.’ Well, at least the famous line, “A magic dwells in every beginning.” Nonetheless, the talks leading to Germany’s new 'traffic lights coalition' were not particularly magical. Its name comes from the colours of its three parties: the red Social Democrats, the yellow Free Democrats, and the green, well, Greens. Read more
It isn’t that a New Zealand drug approval agency is a bad idea per se. It’s rather that the one we have might not be worth having. Read more
If you’ve ever had concerns about economists’ ethical commitments, relax. It could be worse. Read more
It is easy to squander taxpayers’ money if you are a central bank. The losses amount to a few thousand dollars per household, but hardly anyone is aware of it. Read more
One in eight people worldwide could read Pride and Prejudice when Jane Austen published it in 1813. Today, it is the opposite. Read more
Call climate change a catastrophe. Worry about rising seas if you want. Read more
Legislation banning smoking and vaping in cars with children will take effect on Sunday. At the Auckland boundary, police will not only be checking exit papers, but also whether cars comply with the new smokefree regulations. Read more
When land use planning is wrong, it is hard for anything to be right – from housing to supermarkets. Labour and National jointly support legislation allowing people to build more housing. Read more
Another Groundhog Day week in our never-ending Covid crisis. We got an announcement on Monday for another on Wednesday. Read more
Content creators are the fastest growing type of small business worldwide. Today, over 50 million people consider themselves 'influencers' on social media. Read more
The news that our public service is ranked second in the world, according to a UK survey, was overshadowed by two events last week which cast it in a less positive light. New Zealand’s public service placed second in the International Civil Service Effectiveness (InCiSE) Index from Oxford University. Read more
In the past year, the 26 members of the European Defence Agency (EDA) have spent €186 billion on their militaries. But what is all that spending worth when even a few thousand refugees camping out in Belarus reveal how fragile and vulnerable Europe’s external borders are? Read more
The Ministry of Health’s approach to Covid testing is going to kill people. For all of the past year, the Ministry has been horribly wrong about Covid testing systems. It has ignored substantial reviews of testing policy. Read more
In May, Budget 2021 revealed that work was underway to develop an unemployment insurance scheme. This would see benefits tied to past employment and wages in some way, and those benefits would be generous compared to the status quo. Read more