As a commentator on European affairs, there is no question I have heard more often in recent months than who will replace Angela Merkel. Two years ago, Germany’s long-serving Chancellor announced she would not be running for a fifth term in the 2021 election. Read more
Amid all of the discussions of the Climate Commission’s draft report on New Zealand’s climate change response, it is too easy to lose track of the target. The goal isn’t to reach specific electric vehicle targets, though we would expect more people to shift away from petrol as petrol costs increase and as electric vehicles become more competitive. Read more
Humans are complicated. We are intelligent species that dominated the world with our knowledge and brilliance. Read more
During the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, surgeon ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce wrote a letter home explaining the difference between surgery at a Korean War mobile surgical hospital, and the surgery back home. In normal surgery, you have time to get everything right. Read more
In the last twelve months, there have been a growing number of stories about New Zealand’s educational decline. Stories of falling mathematics performance and illiterate teenagers in the media make for grim reading. Read more
Academic debates are rarely high stakes. Compared with the kind of work the Climate Change Commission is doing, debates among academics are of almost no consequence at all. Read more
A well-functioning education system that delivers good outcomes for all is essential to New Zealand’s future prosperity and its people's wellbeing. However, there have been a growing number of stories about New Zealand’s educational decline over recent months. Read more
It is 2035, and the Government’s new BBQ buyback scheme has begun. It is now illegal to cook with gas, and the police are cracking down on underground Weber parties. Read more
On Tuesday, the Climate Change Commission extended the deadline for submissions on its draft recommendations by two weeks. The short extension would give the extra bit of time needed to receive crucial information from the Commission before submissions close. Read more
Last week’s Covid cases in Auckland delayed Finance Minister Robertson’s housing policy announcements. The housing shortage has been at crisis levels for a long time, but the delay in this case is not likely to make any difference. Read more
Against the predictions of most economists early last year, the housing market has boomed through Covid-19. Since March last year, house prices have risen by 20%, rents by 12%. Read more
“Demography is destiny”, as French sociologist Auguste Comte once put it. Few developments shape our society more than the composition, the age and size of our population. Read more
Urban land use planning systems that load councils with the costs of urban growth while letting councils decide whether new housing can be built are a recipe for failure. This underpins a decade of low build rates, a substantial housing shortage, and skyrocketing house prices. Read more
A couple of weeks ago, in this place, I wrote about my humbling experience playing the new politics simulation Democracy 4. Running a country successfully and getting re-elected were near impossible tasks, I concluded. Read more
In Greek mythology, Hercules was tasked with slaying Hydra, a gigantic and deadly water snake. Hydra had multiple heads. Read more
