There are a few things that New Zealand and Panama have in common. Both are home to about four million people. Read more
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an admired African novelist, once said ‘show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become’. It sounds like a cliché but it applies neatly to the portrayal of our schools and students. Read more
If there is one lesson I have taken away from high school English, it is that all movies have deep and hidden meanings that were embedded by the director to reward smart people. Well, at the risk of making others feel inferior for not observing this, I would like to point out the political brilliance of Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Read more
Any discussion around foreign direct investment in New Zealand is guaranteed to provoke hearty debate. More often than not, public uproar over the issue tends to be spurred on by media reports of an impending sale of New Zealand land to overseas interests. Read more
Last month Local Government Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga provided the first peek at the latest round of Local Government Act reforms, dubbed the Better Local Services package. The announcement was not a surprise, particularly as it came in the wake of failed council amalgamation proposals in Wellington, Northland and Hawke’s Bay. Read more
Over at the Christchurch Press, I went through the current controversies about an Ashburton water bottling plant. New Zealand allocates water drawing rights through a consenting system. Read more
Chef and television personality Jamie Oliver was a major proponent of a sugar tax in the UK. You would think, then, that a sugar tax would be a real triumph for the chef turned lobbyist. Read more
A few years ago, The New Republic held a contest for most boring news headline. “A Worthwhile Canadian Initiative” won. Read more
Todd Treweek’s had a bad week. As the Herald reported on Wednesday, the Dunedin chef’s just been busted for his tenth parking offence. Read more
Most people would agree that fairness means that equal things get treated equally and different things get treated differently. In the schooling sector, the current funding system by deciles is one such attempt to be fair. Read more
If you don't know what your inputs really cost, it's hard to know the real value of your company's product. Whether you build cars or make milk powder, that can cause problems. When Germany reunified after the fall of the Berlin wall, legend has it that a West German auto executive emerged weeping from a Trabant car plant. Read more
Some New Zealanders are downright idiots when they drink. From couch burning to drunken brawls to smashing bottles in the streets, there is an ugly side to drinking in New Zealand. Read more
A funny thing happened in the last round of American minimum wage increases. The number of people in unpaid internships went up. Read more
A funny thing happened in the last round of American minimum wage increases. The number of people in unpaid internships went up. Read more
As the UK is heading for its referendum on EU membership, one might assume Prime Minister David Cameron’s entire focus would be on this once-in-a-generation vote. What could be more important than finally settling Britain’s uneasy relationship with Europe? Read more