Our Prime Minister is a real star on the world stage. Capable, articulate, and charismatic, it’s no surprise that her latest foreign trip has won her further plaudits. Read more
It’s hard to write satire when politicians do all the work for you. Take the UK’s embattled Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng. Read more
The Crown Accounts are in better shape than had been expected when the Budget was set. That’s the good news. Read more
Voting for local government should be simple. If you think that council has generally done a good job, support most incumbent candidates. Read more
The British Prime Minister received an unflattering open letter. Its signatories were 364 economists, all united in condemning her economic management. Read more
Economist Dave Heatley finds himself in something of a quandary. New Zealand’s economists firmly support the Emissions Trading Scheme as the best way of achieving New Zealand’s net zero target. Read more
The war in Europe is entering its most dangerous phase yet. Over the past week, we saw 300,000 Russian soldiers mobilised, scam referenda in Russian-occupied territories, and apparent bombings of the Nord Stream pipelines. Read more
Businesses should brace for next week’s return of the Government’s Fair Pay Agreements Bill. The Bill had its first reading in April. Read more
The Prime Minister has announced a new strategy for tackling inflation. The announcement follows recent legislation transferring responsibility for fiscal management from the Reserve Bank to the Ministry for the Environment. Read more
If you are a political reformer, New Zealand should be your oyster. You could turn around a failing education system. Read more
Imagine that you are given a new project at work. It is similar to things you’ve done before, but more complex. Read more
Hard times make for bad thinking. Inflation has been running at 7.3%, or at 7.8% if you remember how the petrol excise holiday works. Read more
Having attended too many public policy conferences, it was only a matter of time until they started haunting me in my sleep. So, one night, I woke up from a nightmare. Read more
In 2011 the Ministry of Education initiated a new school property strategy. Its aim was to replace New Zealand’s classrooms with ‘Modern Learning Environments’ (MLEs). Read more
Political theatre is not usually associated with Julius Vogel (1835-99), the chief architect of the radical expansion of New Zealand’s rail network in the 1870s. A poor speaker, Vogel was also partially deaf in one ear – no small handicap in the heyday of parliamentary debate. Read more