Before Christmas, The Dominion Post asked why public sector pay “hardly ever come[s] down” and whether it has to follow international and corporate trends. It is a reasonable concern, especially for taxpayers who ultimately foot the salary, but is it as simple as the numbers suggest? Read more
The biggest loser in Greece’s snap election was not even on the ballot paper. It was German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose austerity policies in the euro crisis were rejected by Greece’s swing to the radical left. Read more
Having become leader only a couple of months ago, there were great expectations for Andrew Little to spell out what Labour would focus on under his watch. He delivered in his ‘State of the Nation’ speech. Read more
Late last year, Australia proposed a repeal bill that could see the Australian Taxation Office and Australian Securities and Investments Commission take charge from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). ACNC is the body that regulates and maintains a database of all registered charitable entities in Australia. Read more
One critical response to my 12 January 2015 Dominion Post article here on the need for the benefits from government scaffolding regulation to exceed the costs asserted that: This misses the point that that decisions about people's safety at work should never be based solely on money. There is a moral test that also needs to be satisfied. Read more
There is nothing like a Kiwi summer to make you proud to be a New Zealander - from our pristine beaches, to our acres of green pastures, to the great sense of community that naturally forms in holiday parks and campgrounds across the country. There is something special about this land and its people that many of us feel is worth preserving. Read more
The contentious debate over foreign ownership has been heartily reignited, subsequent to Labour MP Stuart Nash questioning whether foreign investors are really adding value to the country. He has described the selling off of productive land to foreign investors who repatriate the profits overseas as a “dead end street” and is demanding greater transparency in the approval process of foreign investment applications. Read more
City planners have done terrible things to housing affordability. While improving the RMA is an important step in stemming the madness, it’s only a first step. Read more
In case you missed the flurry of stories surrounding the release of the latest census data, New Zealand may at some point in the foreseeable future have to give up its status as God’s Own Country. According to the data, the number of people who stated their religious affiliation as Christian dropped below the 50 per cent for the first time in 2013 census, while the number of people claiming no religion rose to just under 42 per cent. Read more
It always astounds me when people claim they have no interest in economics. How could anyone be so nonchalant about the ways in which economic forces influence their daily lives? Read more
Ending the Swiss franc’s peg to the euro surprised market participants, analysts and commentators alike, including this writer. Unlike the introduction of the euro peg in 2011, which was flagged beforehand, the end of the measure was prepared in secret. Read more
The review of troubled Whangaruru facility should be released to help the rest, writes Rose Patterson. One of New Zealand's first charter schools is failing, abysmally, and the Ministry of Education must stop dodging questions. Read more
People have a bad habit of wanting to tell stories about random low-probability events. Whether it's a few dog attacks that happened in the same couple of weeks, or a blip in youth drinking rates, people want to know why. Read more
Usually, we call things stable when they do not change and unstable if they do. Apparently this is not the case in monetary policy. Read more
If you have been scanning the press over the past week or so you may have come across an opinion piece by Michael Pascoe, prophesying doom for the New Zealand dairy industry and the Kiwi economy in general. Pascoe has taken a look at the similarity between iron ore and dairy prices since 2013 - both have more or less halved in value over the period - and concluded that there is a hard landing in store for New Zealand. Read more