OPINION

There should be a German word for it: that moment when one realises a dessert one has always associated with one country actually belongs to several countries – or perhaps, to none at all. As a German who has lived in both Australia and New Zealand, I have often found myself caught in the crossfire of the great Pavlova debate. Read more

Last Friday the government made a heartening announcement that its phase 3 reforms to the Resource Management Act will make property rights a ‘guiding’ principle. The RMA has failed in good part because of two fundamental flaws from a property right perspective: first, it allowed all and sundry to object with impunity to a changed land use; second, it denied compensation for the lost value from a successful objection. Read more

The Government has long promised an inquiry into banking competition. With the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee (FEC) about to begin its work, that time has finally come. Read more

Good news! As of 11 September, it has been legal to advertise Jynneos, the monkeypox vaccine, to communities at risk for monkeypox. Read more

When law students first learn contract law, they learn that entering into a contract can happen in all sorts of ways. Only in the rarest of cases is a contract signed by both parties. Read more

Government sometimes cannot stop itself from providing bailouts when risk-taking goes wrong. This kind of ‘free’ insurance policy leads to no end of bad outcomes. Read more

The government is determined to shake up local government. It wants councils to get back to basics on core services and efficiency. Read more

Picture a rustic jetty on the shores of serene Lake Tarawera. Hanging off the jetty is a small swim ladder. Read more

The gig economy is driving a revolution in work, but our laws sometimes seem stuck in reverse. This week, Parliament finally took the wheel. Read more

It was an ambitious plan to make the European Union the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy within a decade. It aimed to boost innovation, productivity and economic growth across the bloc. Read more

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins has said that the Labour Party is looking at campaigning in 2026 on the need for heavier taxation. Capital gains taxes, wealth taxes and a land tax are “back on the table”. Read more

Curriculum and teacher quality are two essential pillars of any school education system. In New Zealand, both pillars are shaky. Read more

Look at the cover of our new report Demystifying the State. What do you see? Read more

The role of pets in politics came into focus on both sides of the Atlantic this week. First with President Trump’s comments that Haitian migrants were eating cats in Ohio, and then with British PM Kier Starmer bringing in a rival to the Chief Mouser to cabinet. Read more

Sometimes bad policy is good politics. At least over relevant political time horizons. Read more