New Zealand is on track to have its fourth consecutive rise in the road toll this year. In raw numbers, 206 car occupants have died so far this year, already exceeding the entire year’s totals for each of 2013 and 2014. Read more
When I am commenting on the New Zealand election, I have an unfair advantage. Having grown up in a country that has been practising MMP for almost seven decades, I am well versed in it. Read more
Once it was a colour combination frowned upon in the world of fashion (or so I am told). But apparently haute couture has moved on. Read more
A popular myth is that NASA spent millions of dollars producing a writing pen for the Apollo space programme. The space pen could write in zero gravity and would not leak combustible graphite into an oxygen rich space capsule. Read more
New Zealanders are lazy patriots and even worse politicians. In last week’s election, a bit more than a fifth of us held onto our vote and hoped for the best. Read more
We probably all lost count how many times we have now heard the phrase “that extraordinary election this year.” And indeed, by all accounts, it was unusual in many ways. Since Bill English announced the election date on 1 February, we have had nearly eight months of campaigning. Read more
Every now and then, you come across an idea that makes you wonder why you had never thought of it before. I experienced such a moment on Tuesday when I met American author, speaker and entrepreneur Lisa Witter. Read more
‘Twas the night before the election When all through the think tank Not a creature was stirring Because frankly, all we can do now is sit and wait. While the outcome of the election remains anyone’s guess, one thing is certain. Read more
A flock of buzzards. A den of snakes. Read more
Imagine a political party deeply committed to social justice. A party that places fairness and caring for the most disadvantaged above everything else. Read more
Well, now we know what is likely to happen with taxes under a Labour government. National’s promised inflation-indexing of the lower income bracket tax thresholds will be gone, we will likely have some kind of water tax, but big changes like capital gains taxes are off the table until after a report from a Tax Working Group and the 2020 election. Read more
For discerning voters who were getting worried about the splashing of taxpayers' cash this election, fear not. While National and Labour have been pulling out all the stops to get swing voters over the line, not all election policies are designed to buy votes. Read more
With some exceptions, there is a distinct lack of co-operation among the various interests in New Zealand’s inshore fisheries. The lack of co-operation worsens as competition increases for limited fisheries resources. Read more
Elections are not quite the advance auctions of stolen goods that H.L. Mencken warned about. Read more
Approval ratings of more than three quarters are almost unheard of in politics. Most politicians would be satisfied with far less. Read more