At the general election in 2023, New Zealand will mark 30 years and ten elections since it adopted the Mixed-Member Proportional Representation (MMP) electoral system. A criticism of MMP is that the party list system allows party hierarchies essentially to appoint their apparatchiks to parliament. Read more
They may not know it, but unsuspecting Kiwis will soon be protected from unregistered log traders and forestry advisers. What a relief that should be. Read more
This government is teaching us many things. One is that it and its supporters have no quarrel with governments that steam-roll radical reforms through parliament. Read more
As Putin’s soldiers fight in eastern Ukraine, he is also involved in a battle much further west. Tragically, that western battle may even go his way. Read more
Governments like scapegoats. A good scapegoat can take the blame for something that is a government’s fault. Read more
For decades, newspapers’ business model was simple. Classified ads paid most of the bills. Read more
Is a van driver who delivers shopping ordered online a member of the transport industry or the retail industry? Either way, why would you want to know? Read more
Five hundred and twenty-five days. This is how long the Reserve Bank of Australia had kept its interest rate steady when Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese was asked about it by a journalist on the campaign trail. Read more
Russia’s Embassy in Wellington includes some 20 officials and their partners. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website tells us the Russian Embassy’s staff include Ambassador Zuev, a Deputy Head of Mission, a Second Secretary, another Second Secretary, a Third Secretary, four Attachés, and eleven “Administrative and Technical Staff.” It isn’t a small number. Read more
There was once a place called the University. I knew it well – in fact I grew up there. Read more
New Zealand’s longest-running, most-damaging, and stupidest game of Cluedo might finally be over. The killer has been nabbed. Read more
New Zealand has a major problem with educational inequality in its school system. The reasons are complex and not all of them are in the control of the education system. Read more
Too many people think that what people get paid should bear some relationship to effort, merit or responsibility. Useless economists think it should have something to do with supply and demand. Read more
Inflation is central government's responsibility. The Reserve Bank sets monetary policy, and monetary policy drives inflation. Read more
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is how Germany’s foreign and defence policy appears these days. Read more