It isn’t crazy to claim that New Zealand’s school system lacks ambition. Or, if it is, our shop has been crazy for a while. Read more
The chickens of negligence have come home to roost – but they’re not welcome in the Henhouse of Education. As we wrote in Insights last week, in a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA, only two thirds of assessed students met a basic standard of adult numeracy and reading ability. Read more
Whiplash occurs when the body is moving fast in one direction and is abruptly jerked back in the opposite direction. It can be very painful, lethal even. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative recently commented on a pilot of new reading, writing and numeracy assessments for NCEA. Just a third of students participating in the pilot met the standard for writing. Read more
Since 2019, central banks have presided over perhaps the largest monetary stimulus the world has ever seen. Despite this, the surge in inflation surprised them. Read more
It is summer in Germany, and traditionally that is not good news. Or rather, it is not a good time for news. Read more
Budget 2022 allocated just over $2.5 million a year, over four years, to the Customs Service to help it stop cigarette smuggling. I wonder whether it will be enough. Read more
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching The Chase. However, I wish Stuff had covered New Zealand’s deteriorating education standards instead of running a series of long articles on a British TV trivia show this week. Read more
A long queue of people form a circle. Each has a coin purse slung over a shoulder. Read more
Inflation in New Zealand has been on the rise (7.3 percent last quarter) as have the attempts to explain it. The RBNZ points to strong global economic activity, supply disruptions, and the Ukraine war. Read more
New Zealand’s economic and social decline is slowly receiving greater recognition amongst journalists and commentators. The litany of woes is daunting. Read more
What does an unemployment rate of 3.2 per cent have in common with apples rotting on the trees in orchards? Both are signs of an overheated labour market. Read more
If there were no better way of solving the problem, one could forgive how central government has approached water infrastructure reform. Some councils have done a very poor job in maintaining their pipes. Read more
On Sunday, the government announced an extension of the petrol excise and Road User Charge holiday, as well as half-price public transport, until the end of the year. The Beehive’s press release said that the move would reduce headline inflation by 0.5 percentage points. Read more
We can reasonably expect New Zealand’s economy to enter recession after the Reserve Bank raised its Official Cash Rate again by 50 basis points. No one likes being in recession, but current circumstances make it almost desirable. Read more