Last week, the Government announced a new $70 million fund which will pay companies to move heating processes from coal to cleaner alternatives. The Prime Minister said the fund, which is called Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI), is a “win win” that will “create jobs while lowering emissions”. Read more
It sounds so easy: If waiting on a Covid-19 test, stay home. It’s probably just a cold, but the costs if it isn’t are high. Read more
James Shaw has wasted no time asserting his powers as Climate Change Minister. His comments at the Climate Change and Business Conference in Auckland last Wednesday signal the Government’s intent on emissions. Read more
Rumours of a merger between the Reserve Bank and the Property Council have been greatly exaggerated. The Bank will need no help to do whatever it takes to keep Auckland homeowners safe from any dip in property prices. Read more
In a year of bad news, the past few weeks were a welcome exception. Pfizer’s announcement of a potentially effective Covid-19 vaccine opens a path back to normal life. Read more
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern dipped her toe into the debate over rising house prices by suggesting returning Kiwis are mostly to blame for skyrocketing house prices. Ardern is wrong to point the finger at returning Kiwi’s. Read more
If you really want to spoil your next pleasant weekend urban walk, here’s a suggestion. Pull out your phone, open homes.co.nz and check the estimated prices of every house along the way. Read more
One of the first management books I ever read was Tom Peters’ A Passion for Excellence. I must have received it in the late 1980s from a family friend. Read more
There is something special about Adele, Madonna and Sia. Because these pop divas are only ever referred to by their first names. Read more
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