Much is being made of the current exodus of New Zealanders to Australia – about a thousand a week at last count. As an indicator of confidence in New Zealand’s economic environment, it is damning. Read more
Newspapers are reporting increasing pressure from Germany for Spain to accept a European bailout. The story is all the more credible as the Spanish government, refusing a bailout, has strongly denied any such bullying. Read more
Analysing the link between the Holocaust and the European crisis is far more interesting than solving the crisis. At least if you are German. Read more
When New Zealand’s budget was handed down yesterday it was business as usual for the National-led coalition government. Prime Minister John Key’s government delivered another cautious, albeit sensible budget edging slowly in the right direction. Read more
As a newcomer to New Zealand, one of the biggest surprises to me was the degree of polarisation I perceived in its political discourse. In the complex world of 21st century globalisation the way in which debates are still conducted as "Left versus Right" is not only anachronistic. Read more
Prime minister John Key observed that the 2011 election was about the economy. Business people are looking to the incoming government to address critical weaknesses in our economy and implement policies to boost economic growth. Read more
Executive pay has been in the news again, with recent reports of the remuneration packages of Sir Ralph Norris, CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and George Frazis, head of Westpac New Zealand. Some claim they are unfair or undeserved. Read more
The select committee considering the bill to set up the referendum on the electoral system is due to report back to parliament next month. It is important that parliament provides voters with the best possible process for deciding on this important issue. Read more
Next month the 2025 Taskforce will be delivering its second report to the government. It is the most important taskforce reporting this year. Read more
Here’s a quick quiz. First question: Name a wealthy country where either party to an employment contract is free to terminate it at any time, provided they give notice. Read more
Last month Rebecca Macfie wrote an article in the Listener entitled “Our slack bosses”. In it she argued that “one of New Zealand’s dirtiest little secrets is that our businesses are not very well managed” and that “the poor quality of New Zealand managers is holding the country back”. Read more
The savings debate has not always been well-informed, and it’s good that the government has put together a well qualified group to advise it. The last official inquiry was part of the 2001 McLeod Tax Review. Read more
John Maynard Keynes once wrote: “There is no harm in being sometimes wrong – especially if one is promptly found out.” Unfortunately for the world, the problems with Keynes’ ideas were not discovered promptly, and the lessons were too soon forgotten as Keynesian thinking enjoyed a revival with the recent global financial crisis and subsequent recession. At the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s, Keynes advocated fiscal stimulus – higher government spending or tax reductions – to boost total spending in the economy and put the unemployed back into jobs. Read more
In recent years Statistics NZ has done an excellent job of shedding light on the productivity performance of the economy. It made a further contribution with a release last month of productivity statistics at the industry level for the years 1978-2008. Read more
Parliament is considering a bill to amend the Local Government Act 2002 passed by the last government. It is a chance to improve democracy and performance in our councils. Read more