The government’s Three Waters reform aims to make sure Kiwis have access to safe drinking water, and to close an investment gap worth $185 billion. Another crucial matter for the reform, which has received little attention so far, is housing affordability. Read more
Watching government agencies scramble to find solutions to problems they or other government agencies caused is darkly amusing. They rarely notice the root cause of the problem they are trying to solve, or that their proposed solutions only set the stage for the next round of problems to come. Read more
James Michael Curley, Mayor of Boston four times between 1914 and 1950, knew how to win an election. Curley’s key to victory? Read more
A long-standing mate stopped me in the street last week. He asked me if I was livid about property rights. Read more
Constitutional progress usually start with a bad government. Back in the 13th century, King John lost wars and paid for them by taking his subjects’ property. Read more
Kiwis desperate for a clear path forward on border restrictions last Friday had their hopes dashed. Those living in Auckland are no closer to knowing whether they will be allowed out of New Zealand's largest city for the Christmas break. Read more
Trolley problems are fun thought experiments in the philosophy and economics classroom. A trolley is hurtling down the track and will run over 10 people, unless you pull the lever. Read more
As American lawyer and politician Gideon J. Tucker put it, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” Tucker’s law generally holds true, but there are rare exceptions. Read more
Those of us whose families are far away across wide oceans found a bit of hope this week. Entering New Zealand will really be rather simple. Read more
Last week, the government unveiled the first draft of its plan for how this country will lower emissions over the coming decades. The Emissions Reduction Plan lacks specifics but signals intent. Read more
The government’s Budgets in 2020 and 2021 arguably breached the Public Finance Act 1989. This is a serious concern. Read more
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was an inspired choice. By recognising Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa, two journalists working in adverse conditions in Russia and the Philippines, the Nobel Committee sent a powerful message to support an independent media. Read more
In 1996, Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash highlighted the political importance of speed in the 1980s reform agenda. Drawing on an earlier speech by Sir Roger Douglas, he noted that “opponents’ fire is much less accurate if they have to shoot at a rapidly moving target.” Policy over the past two years have moved at similar pace, but rather less coherently, and in the middle of a global pandemic that also requires at least some minor attention from the ministries. Read more
Public relations is poorly understood. Much of that is due to the dramas and sitcoms detailing wild story arcs of spin doctors, the dark arts, and political influence. Read more
Each year, the government gives away millions of emissions units to trade-exposed businesses under its Industrial Allocations (“IAs”) policy. The policy is narrow but deep. Read more