A Joe Biden Presidency looks increasingly likely. But the election was nail-bitingly close. Read more
It can be tough to know what to make of events as they happen on election days. In New Zealand, the task of working out who is winning is fairly simple. Read more
The resurgence of Covid-19 in Europe is ending hopes of a quick recovery from a-sharp “V-shaped” recession. Will it be a U-shaped recession, an L-shaped recession? Read more
When Odysseus sailed the treacherous waters between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, he just had to survive. Holding onto a fig tree, Odysseus eventually made it through. Read more
Last week the Governor of the Reserve Bank Adrian Orr issued a call to action on climate change. Titled “Progressing Climate Action by Driving Transformational Change” it sounded like a political stump speech. Read more
As US military strategist John Boyd said about his “OODA loop” theory (observe, orient, decide, act), if one’s orientation is out by just a millimetre, the entire strategy fails. A new site called mediabias.co.nz measures the political bias of New Zealand news services and it shows those worried about media bias are worried about the wrong thing. Read more
It all finally started coming together in the 2021 Budget. The pieces existed before it, but nobody had put them together. Read more
Voters rewarded the Coalition Government for saving lives as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world. Now the new Government must save livelihoods. Read more
All eyes are on New Zealand. In the lead-up to the election, Time magazine admired our "calmer democracy." The World Health Organisation once again praised our Covid-19 management. Read more
A distinct advantage that the bench sciences and medical sciences have over the social sciences is the ability to run experiments. If a clinician wants to run a trial to check whether a new drug might work, the regulatory hurdles can be substantial, but the trial is certainly possible. Read more
The sense of relief was palpable as the long election campaign finally ended. It is even better that the result delivered a clear mandate without the need of compromises, deal-making and brinkmanship. Read more
Winston Peters will exit politics for the third time in his career. I spotted his ghost at Parliament the other day. Read more
In 2018, the Labour-led Government proudly released its first wellbeing budget. It would be great if Labour uses its second term to truly focus on wellbeing. Read more
Fresh numbers show the Labour-led administration was a big spender even before Covid-19 and New Zealand incomes overall in 2025 might be less than in 2019. Last week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published its forecasts out to 2025. Read more
Once upon a time, Boris Johnson scored an emphatic election victory. It delivered him an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons, and it was won on a promise: To sort out Brexit. Read more