For reasons that evade me, the New Zealand media seem hell-bent on discussing the flag. Despite describing the referendum as a political distraction and a John Key ego campaign, the same media outlets continue to give the issue oxygen. Read more
With Labour’s bid to cultivate a fear of foreigners buying houses failing to sprout in the polls, the party is now looking to sow the same message to a more fertile field. The farming sector. Read more
Last week, the Prime Minister found words of consolation for people concerned about declining housing affordability. “Aucklanders are getting wealthier,” John Key said as he referred to front page stories about rising house prices in Auckland. Read more
Australians could be forgiven for not closely following the leadership contest of the British Labour Party. After all, what is the point of studying the internal debates of a party that has just suffered a crushing election defeat in a general election and now faces five long years on the opposition bench? Read more
Dr Adrienne Alton-Lee, Chief Education Advisor for the Ministry of Education’s Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis programme, argues that no dollar should be spent on any initiative that does not have a research design linked to student achievement. I concur, especially when the education sector is forecast to spend $13.1 billion in the 2015/16 fiscal year. Read more
If the irate masses on the internet value African conservation efforts and the survival of wild species like lion, they need to sign a petition calling for Ricky Gervais to be shot, stuffed and mounted on a trophy room wall. Although it sounds extreme, it is the only reasonable call to make based on the internet’s need to publicly flagellate anyone deemed to be hurting animals, and the actual economic facts of how trophy hunting works in Africa. Read more
You never really understand an issue until you can argue from the opposing view. Being able to make the best possible case for something you oppose helps you to avoid attacking strawmen and means that your own argument will be stronger for it. Read more
Those in favour of increasing minimum wages often express altruistic motives and concern for those on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder. But in doing so, they conveniently ignore an obvious flaw in the argument: a rise in the cost of workers will likely reduce demand for labour. Read more
Hipsters are a fascinating species. They dress like they are from the 1950s, listen to music from any era, but have a distinctly millennial attitude. Read more
If recent media reports can be believed, Angela Merkel has decided to run for a fourth term in 2017. This will come as a surprise to those who had speculated that the German Chancellor might resign sometime before the next election. Read more
Last week’s ‘A More Inclusive New Zealand Forum’ brought together government, NGO and community representatives to discuss how to promote social and economic participation. The purpose was to get a variety of expertise in the room from economists, to policy wonks, to those working on the ground. Read more
Central government is squandering billions of dollars of householders’ income. It is doing so simply because it lacks the incentive to assess value for money with sufficient rigour. Read more
Over the past weeks, we have heard a lot of talk about Asian buyers allegedly being responsible for skyrocketing house prices in Auckland. You sometimes get the impression that in New Zealand’s relationship with Asia and Asians, all that matters are their combined effects on Auckland property. Read more
When the government moved to privatise Mount Eden prison, I was a sceptic. There can be very good arguments for outsourcing service provision or privatisation in all kinds of sectors, but prisons were about the last on my list. Read more
(Warning: this editorial contains large doses of sarcasm and anti-paternalism that may exceed recommended nanny state allowances.) With that out of the way, the US Federal Government recently announced plans to make nutritional food labelling mandatory in restaurants, grocery stores, and at vending machines. The aim behind the plan is to tackle rising obesity rates on the assumption that there is an information market failure at the root of this health crisis. Read more