Fevered with Covid and isolated in a Te Anau motel, I imagined the following interview. Q: Finance Ministers traditionally urge people to be prudent – not to borrow to invest in shares. Read more
The GFC had many casualties. In New Zealand, one was the former Securities Commission. Read more
In July last year a furore erupted when seven eminent professors from the University of Auckland published a letter in the New Zealand Listener. They wrote to criticise Ministry of Education plans to include mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) in the science curriculum for schools. Read more
Monetary policy always had an air of the mystical. The past is filled with fallen sages like Alan Greenspan, inflation-warriors like Paul Volcker and gurus like Milton Friedman. Read more
There were a lot of truly classic episodes of Seinfeld, but among the very best, at least for economists, was “The Bottle Deposit”. And we may be in for a repeat if the Ministry for the Environment has anything to say about it. Read more
Commercial regulatory agencies wield enormous power. They can take away a business’s licence to operate. Read more
Yesterday’s budget was not the only budget in town. It followed hot on the heels of Climate Change Minister James Shaw’s announcement on Monday of the Government’s $2.9 billion Emissions Reduction Plan. Read more
It’s a shame Grant Robertson didn’t sit down with The Spinoff’s Duncan Grieve before Budget Day. The Spinoff has come up with an ingenious new policy. Read more
Yesterday, even with all the lights on in the debating chamber, the Minister of Finance sounded like he was whistling in the dark. Grant Robertson’s Budget was what we have come to expect from this government. Read more
When the government announced revised fiscal rules earlier this month, Treasury provided a mild caution. Shifting from a net debt target to a net debt ceiling would require a greater emphasis on year-to-year fiscal discipline. Read more
New Zealand’s border settings continue to confound. In November last year, even the cautious Ministry of Health advised the Government that MIQ no longer served any useful purpose. Read more
Finland and Sweden intending to join Nato is not just a radical departure from decades of Nordic foreign policy, it also shows how the invasion of Ukraine has altered the political landscape in Europe - not just in Scandinavia. There was a time when many left-leaning politicians in Europe viewed everything related to defence and security alliances with suspicion. Read more
There’s an old adage that one should buy stocks not on new news, but on the rumour of it. By the time whatever it is is news, everyone will know it, and the effects will be priced in. Read more
International junkets for public servants are not my cup of tea. But I will make an exception for the New Zealand Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi. Read more
One key to happiness is not letting your expectations run ahead of what is possible, as that only leads to disappointment. But what has been announced thus far makes for a depressing Budget Day. Read more