OPINION

A couple of months ago, I was part of a panel discussion on the future of tertiary education, hosted by the Tertiary Education Union. It wanted a forecast of the future of skills in a world of technological change: what should universities be teaching to prepare students for the world ahead? Read more

Thirteen billion Euros ($20bn) is a lot of money, even if you are a giant multi-national like Apple. That is the sum the European Commission wants Apple to pay the Republic of Ireland. Read more

Right now, you probably have homeowner’s insurance that, if a catastrophe happened, would let you build a new house providing similar functionality to your current house, up to a specified total cost. Here’s the deal. Read more

Some of the most admired New Zealanders have achieved success getting high. Many have been addicted to it, and self-confessedly so. Read more

The obesity experts in favour of a sugar tax are right about one thing: some of the opposition to such a tax is ideological. But they're kidding themselves if they think that is the only reason. Read more

Vancouver and Auckland have much in common. Both are beautiful harbour cities. Read more

2016 is closer to 1240 than you might think. In 1240, Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, established the first ever documented student loan system. Read more

With Britain set to leave the European Union in the next few years, pressure will mount on Germany to keep up its economic-leadership role in Europe. The country appears up to the task, especially given the labor-market reforms of a decade ago that boosted employment to unusual highs (for Europe). Read more

We are all familiar with nightmares. They can be terrifying. Read more

A penny saved is a penny earned. This should be the motto of regulatory reform. Read more

In this age of ‘post-truth politics’ (which, by the way, must be one of the greatest tautologies of all time) I guess all truths can be relative. North Korea is magnificent because Gareth Morgan told us so. Read more

The train-wreck was utterly predictable but we should still look back to see how it happened, how bad it was, and how we can keep it from happening again. This week, The New Zealand Initiative released its decade-on retrospective look at the government’s interest-free student loan policy. Read more

As you read this, our teachers’ unions are preparing for war. For the first time in history they are planning meetings of 60,000 teachers, nationwide, during school hours. Read more

A lot of people have done well out of the past decade of interest-free student loans. But that hardly means the policy is what is right for the country. Read more

The world premiere of a new film on New Zealand’s post 1984 economic reforms will screen in the Academy Cinema (below the Auckland Public Library) on Thursday 25 August at 6pm. This film was made by Americans for an international audience. Read more