New Zealand has had a pretty decent eight years under John Key. The rest of the world’s descent into madness accelerated sharply, and New Zealand’s has looked better by comparison. Read more
I leaned at the bench, feeling exhausted. Looking around, I could tell they were all feeling much the same. Read more
By any measure, this year was not short of political surprises, from Brexit to Donald Trump. Yet neither was as shocking as John Key’s resignation as New Zealand Prime Minister yesterday. Read more
From ‘that’ NCEA maths exam that left students in tears, the confusion around exams during last month’s earthquake, to the seclusion of special needs students, it seems the education sector rarely gets a break. And it looks like that will not change anytime soon with the latest news in education. Read more
Following the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, US public opinion guru Frank Luntz provided some good advice on Twitter: “If you praise Fidel Castro, don’t expect anyone to take your criticism of Donald Trump seriously.” If only Frank Luntz had more Twitter followers. Though proverbs remind us not to speak ill of the dead, there is no need to wax lyrical about them either. Read more
Anyone who has tried to teach their parents how to use a new technology must have empathised with Uber New Zealand general manager Richard Menzies last week. Appearing before Parliament’s Transport Committee, Menzies was trying to make the case that outdated taxi regulations need not apply to Uber. Read more
Reincarnation is a tricky concept, not least because it requires we accept the idea that those experiencing terrible ordeals must have committed even more horrid deeds to deserve their fate. But, if this logic is accepted, then the people working in local government must have done some truly awful, terrible, horrendous things in a previous life. Read more
It’s pretty good being a working woman in New Zealand, which has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the OECD. Gender disparities in many occupations have been closing. Read more
Like everyone else in Wellington, our family woke early that Monday morning to earthquakes. We had been through it before, in Christchurch, and I did not like it. Read more
Some opportunities you know you’d really regret passing over. And so I found myself on Saturday in a hot tub full of milk with Canterbury law lecturer David Round, Christchurch activist artist Sam Mahon, and chef-in-training Camila Nieuwlands. Read more
Local government is ready to sit down and talk with central government about improving the sector’s performance, provided policymakers in the Beehive come to the table as a partner, not as a parent. That was the theme that emerged from the launch of our latest report, The Local Manifesto: Restoring local government accountability, which took place in Wellington on Monday. Read more
I almost did not read The Herald’s exclusive ‘classroom shake-up’ coverage last week. Quake stories were getting me down. Read more
If we want councils to be open, accountable and democratic, we have to overhaul the laws the govern the sector, writes Jason Krupp Local government in Zealand is broken and dying, only it is dying so slowly that you’d hardly notice it unless you are looking, and it is a problem. That most of you probably read this without batting an eye is testament to just how broken the sector is. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative is conducting research on the way fisheries are managed. This research will culminate in policy recommendations to help debate how best to improve New Zealanders’ recreational fishing experience. Read more
“Regulation above all else” is exactly what ridesharing wunderkind Uber must feel as it faces up to select committee hearings in Wellington this month. Despite promises of a new regulatory framework that recognises the role of global technology in improving safety and consumer protection, the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Transport have fallen well short. Read more
