OPINION

The saying that if your only tool is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail seems particularly apt when describing central government’s approach to local government reform. Staring some pretty daunting challenges in the face, like the wave of infrastructure that needs to be refreshed off an ageing ratepayer base over the next 30 years, central government’s preferred solution so far has been to amalgamate councils into bigger structures. Read more

As far as corporate scandals go, they do not come bigger than the Volkswagen affair. Yes, other companies make mistakes too. Read more

There is a perplexing thing that continues to challenge the education sector, where a deluge of new teachers enter the market and yet many principals report difficulties filling vacancies. This may seem improbable, but there is one likely explanation for it: weak quality signals. Read more

Since the third position here at Insights is usually reserved for a light-hearted take on the events of the day, let me play devil’s advocate, taking the opposite side to two of Oliver’s recent arguments. Oliver is almost certainly correct, and if the Initiative has a position on anything, it is his. Read more

The Volkswagen emissions cheating affair is only the last in a long row of German corporate scandals, as I wrote last week (The fallout from the Volkswagen fiasco, 24 September). But it is not just a corporate scandal we are witnessing, what is on display is also a piece of crony (or at least cosy) capitalism. Read more

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