The Third Law of Demand Once you see it, you see it everywhere. Married couples who’ve left the kids home with a sitter go out to nicer restaurants than childless couples who have the same income. Read more
So, we are in a ‘technical recession’. Sounds bad. Read more
For most of the 2010s, if schools wanted funding for new classrooms, the Ministry of Education insisted that they build Modern Learning Environments (MLEs). These are large, open-plan classrooms, sometimes housing more than a hundred children and their teachers. Read more
Parliament’s Environment Committee released its reports on the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills this week. The (Labour) majority recommends that modified Bills be enacted. Read more
Victoria University of WELLINGTON has announced a new $30-million research project to figure out how the university managed to dig itself a $30 million financial hole. ‘Some have suggested that spending more than you take in can have that effect over the long run,’ said Associate-Assistant Vice-Dean Barbara Boffin, ‘But it’s obviously something we need to investigate further.’ The losses were definitely not due to a new AI programme designed to find every instance of the university’s name anywhere in the world and capitalize every letter of the word WELLINGTON, said Super-Pro-Vice-Chancellor Tom Toady. Read more
New Zealand has produced some impressive scientists during its short history. Ernest Rutherford, dubbed ‘the father of nuclear physics’, must surely be foremost among them. Read more
At the start of National Blood Donor Week, the New Zealand Blood Service warned that it will need more donors. According to the Blood Service’s Asuke Burge, “If we can’t meet demand, it means we are going to be forced to compete in the global market, for particularly plasma products. Read more
Over thirteen thousand more full-time equivalent workers joined the public service from 2017 to 2022 – a 28% increase. It contrasts sharply with Australia’s modest increase. Read more
When it comes to pointlessness, the Companies (Directors Duties) Amendment Bill takes some beating. When drawn from the ballot, the Bill proposed amending section 131 of the Companies Act 1993 dealing with the duty of directors to act in the best interests of the company. Read more
Too many minutes are lost every day pondering trivial matters. We think too much about who the next Prime Minister might be, how crime is hurting our businesses or whether our children are being taught the skills they need at school. Read more
The Green Party’s proposed wealth tax plays to greed and envy. It blithely proposes that everyone can be lifted out of poverty by imposing a heavy wealth tax on a mere 0.7% of the population. Read more
Election campaigns should mainly be about the policies a party would enact, if elected. But they’re also about the things a party wouldn’t do. Read more
While it is easy to lament the current state of New Zealand’s infrastructure, it is important to remind ourselves that we were once builders. On Wednesday, we launched a new report, Paving the Way: Learning from New Zealand’s Past to Build a Better Future. Read more
Labour really should rule out any chance of the Green Party’s proposed wealth tax being part of any coalition agreement. Just consider some of the numbers on what it would do for hurdle rates for wealthy investors in the top income tax bracket. Read more
Sometimes you just have to accept that the devil has the best tunes. That Australians are better than Kiwis at some sports. Read more
