Dr Oliver Hartwich from The New Zealand Initiative explains that, while they might make homeowners feel richer, high home prices are not a cause for celebration. It’s time to remember what a home’s true function is and why unaffordability is problematic. Read more
Should the owner of Lochinver Station, the Stevenson Group, have the right to sell it to the Crown at the Shanghai Pengxin bid price of $88 million? In that case, the Crown could (and should) immediately sell the station to the highest bid from a New Zealander. Read more
It was a great week for New Zealand – and for me personally. Statistics NZ reported a net gain of more than 60,000 people in the year to August. Read more
To say that the National government has been farcical this past week would not be unreasonable. Light on policy and heavy on everything from flags, to pandas, to limiting property rights, it is no wonder commentators too are turning Monty Python-esque. Read more
With the resurgence of far left politics in places like the UK and US, the narrative that capitalism is a destructive force that seeks profit at any cost has increasingly been doing the rounds. This argument can be persuasive, but only if you ignore the transformative power of markets. Read more
If there is one overarching theme in the Department of Internal Affairs’ report on loopy regulations, released this week, it is that our regulations have become so complicated that nobody really knows what the rules are any more. The Rules Reduction Taskforce set out last year to collect examples of “loopy” regulations in need of updating. Read more
Volkswagen’s admission of having systematically manipulated emissions results of its cars has not only plunged the world’s second-largest car manufacturer into crisis, but it is also causing damage to Germany’s international reputation. But why is anyone surprised? Read more
I have a vested interest in refugee matters. Not only at a personal level, having arrived in New Zealand as a refugee 20 years ago, but I have also spent the past 10 years working with refugee communities in various capacities. Read more
It’s a rare day I do not pass by one of Wellington’s many bucket collectors. On my morning walk from the train station through to Lambton Quay, it’s more common to see at least three or four of them than to see none. Read more
At The New Zealand Initiative researchers are exposed to a wide array of interesting information from various sources. Some of this relates research, others just fit into areas of interest. Read more
Shortly after being chosen by his party as Australia’s new Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull singled out one international leader as his role model: his New Zealand counterpart. “John Key has been able to achieve very significant economic reforms in New Zealand by doing just that, by taking on and explaining complex issues and then making the case for them,” Turnbull told the media. Read more
This week the people of Central Hawkes Bay, Wairoa, Napier and Hastings voted two-to-one against a proposal to merge their authorities into a mega-council. The move is a third black eye for the National-led government in recent years, which seems to view bigger-is-better as the model for local government. Read more
In ground-breaking research conducted by the University of Cambridge, it has been discovered that “people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages or tableware.” In other words, if you are offered more food, you tend to eat more food. Anyone who has visited a buffet restaurant could have drawn the same conclusion. Read more
Last week, I wrote in this column that Europe’s refugee crisis could undo the EU. This week, I notice how much progress has been achieved in that respect over the past seven days. Read more
Do older Australians hate younger Australians? This is a question that some were left pondering after attending a recent presentation by John Daley of the Grattan Institute on the urbanisation challenge facing Australian cities. Read more