OPINION

Judging by the length of Labour’s manifesto proposals for workplace relations reform, you might think New Zealand’s labour markets were not working well for workers. If re-elected, Labour will persist with plans of former Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Ian Lees-Galloway to introduce compulsory industry-wide collective bargaining (dubbed ‘Fair Pay Agreements’). Read more

Times are tough, I get it. All this talk of a “new normal” but only Coco’s Cantina in Auckland seems serious about getting us there. Read more

Voting is not a duty. But if you do vote, you should vote well. Read more

Too much money is spent on education. New Zealand invests billions into schooling its children. Read more

Few political decisions have weakened the European Union as much as Angela Merkel’s opening of her country’s borders in 2015. Back then, the German Chancellor unilaterally decided to allow millions of refugees stranded in Hungary to move into the bloc, triggering severe tensions between EU members. Read more

Treasury released its economic and fiscal forecasts to 2033/34 last week. Because it is politically neutral and fully informed, Treasury is best placed to make such pre-election forecasts. Read more

The real fun in Treasury fiscal updates is rarely in the headlines. It’s rather in the finer print where the assumptions underpinning the main estimates are laid out, and where different scenarios are played out. Read more

Dear minister, Let’s cut to the chase: New Zealand’s economy is in a perilous state. The covid-19 crisis is a one-in-100-year shock. Read more

Back in March, the World Happiness Index 2020 placed New Zealand eighth with a score of 7.3, tucked between Austria and Sweden. Every country ranking higher was Nordic (aside from Switzerland) and I notice they also have plenty of Ikea stores. Read more

We should thank Ruth Richardson for requiring Treasury to publish pre-election economic and fiscal forecasts. Compliments also to Treasury for maintaining their quality over nearly three decades. Read more

Treasury’s pre-election fiscal update makes for grim reading. Bryce Wilkinson tallies the numbers, showing the forecasts are based on heroic projections about growth in labour productivity and on greater fiscal discipline than has been the norm. Read more

Last week, National proposed a series of policies to increase the uptake of electric vehicles. Suppose it works exactly as promised and the number of electric vehicles quadruples in the next three years. Read more

Judging by the usual economic indicators, you would never guess New Zealand is in a severe crisis. This tells us something about the economic and monetary system we inhabit. Read more

Back in April, the Government promised $50 million to support a flagging media sector. It’s hard to make a buck online, but the real problem was getting people to pay attention to news. Read more

On the first day of election bribes, Jacinda gave to me: a holiday on Matariki. On the second day of election bribes, Judith gave to me: two four-lane highways and a holiday on Matariki. Read more