Harry Potter had a profound influence on my childhood. While I was never one of those kids who expected a letter from Hogwarts on their eleventh birthday, I did enjoy the books immensely. Read more
If the latest signals coming from the Federal Reserve are anything to go by, it is only a matter of time until the US central bank increases its funds rate. Most likely it is going to happen some time over the northern hemisphere summer. Read more
For years, we have been warned that New Zealand is facing a manufacturing crisis. The Kiwi dollar’s high exchange rate would hurt exporters and drive industrial activities out of New Zealand. Read more
In just over a week’s time we will find out whether all the work that Environment Minister Nick Smith and his team have put into the latest round of Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will ever see the light of day. That is when voters in Northland will decide whether to let the National Party maintain its effective majority in Parliament or opt for a bit of something different in the form of Winston Peters and New Zealand First. Read more
You all know The New Zealand Initiative as a great little think tank for a great little country. You might not know that we are also a membership organisation: our work is supported by our members. Read more
Recently the Education and Science Committee reported on its Inquiry into engaging parents in the education of their children. Reading through its myriad recommendations, it becomes clear all are on the supply side. Read more
Only kamikaze cyclists would choose to cycle in Wellington. Known for its steep, winding roads barely wide enough for a Reliant Robin let alone two lanes, parked vehicles and a bus. Read more
When the new Greek government took office in late January, I wondered whether they might be trying to play the ‘madman strategy’ in a game of chicken (The euro crisis has become a game of chicken, January 29). Behaving erratically and seemingly irrationally, so I wrote, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his finance minister Yanis Varoufakis might just drive the other Europeans to insanity -- and force them to surrender to prevent the worst. Read more
Have you ever heard the adage that you cannot have infinite economic growth in a finite planet? Or that economic growth is all well and good, but it is time New Zealand focussed our attention on other things? Read more
I moved to New Zealand in 2003 because I saw it as an island (well, three islands and change) of sanity in a world going mad. The Outside of the Asylum, as Douglas Adams might put it. Read more
When I was interviewed for this job, I was asked what three public policy changes I would make, if I could. They say that people's policy recommendations can reveal a lot about their priorities, and what they value. Read more
For foreign exchange traders, there is nothing more interesting than speculating on central bank policies. Changing interest rates obviously have an effect on exchange rates so traders need to follow the moves of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and sometimes even the Reserve Bank of New Zealand with interest. Read more
This weekend I’m going to wash the house with a water blaster. I will probably also give the parched garden a good drenching, hose the car down, and then relax afterwards with a nice long shower. Read more
It was an unfortunate coincidence that earlier this week two interviews were published almost at the same time that demonstrated the schism between European wishful thinking and Europe’s not-so-wishful reality. Speaking to German conservative broadsheet Welt am Sonntag, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for a common European army. Read more
Imagine for a second that you are a small business owner, and one day while trawling through your emails, a bolt of lightning sizzles through the office window and strikes your assistant, killing him instantly. Then to compound the situation, the telephone rings, and it is the police. Read more