Has girl power gone too far?

It’s break time in an all-male office. The boys gather around a window to watch a gorgeous woman outside seductively pop open a bottle of soda and show off her stunning figure. Read more

Rose Patterson
Insights Newsletter
22 March, 2013

The EU game has no real rules

When I last wrote about Cyprus, the eurozone faced a political and economic dilemma in its smallest member state (The spectre protecting a sinful little Cyprus, January 24). With last weekend’s bailout, Europe’s politicians have once again managed to make a bad situation worse. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Business Spectator
19 March, 2013

Language competence is a benefit

If you filled in your census forms last week, you would have had to answer question number 13: "In which language(s) could you have a conversation about a lot of everyday things?" The wording of the question is clumsy. I wonder how our statisticians define ‘a lot of’, what they mean by ‘everyday’, and whether ‘things’ could have been more specific. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Insights Newsletter
15 March, 2013

Houston and Municipal Utility Districts

Driving around Houston, Texas, several things strike you immediately: the number of pickup trucks, the proliferation of ‘Nobama’ bumper stickers, and the widest freeways. Houston is in many ways a typical post-War city. Read more

Luke Malpass
Insights Newsletter
15 March, 2013

Same-sex marriage becoming a non-issue

On Wednesday, Labour MP Louisa Wall’s private members bill passed its second reading in Parliament. If passed into legislation, the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill will allow same-sex couples to marry. Read more

Rose Patterson
Insights Newsletter
15 March, 2013

Caught in Europe’s competition dark ages

While it was still busy sorting out the mess that is the European economy, the European Commission last week could at least score a small victory: it issued a €561 million fine to Microsoft for breaching undertakings given in the software giant’s long-running antitrust dispute with the EU. The new fine brings Microsoft’s total contribution to the EU budget over the years to a total of €2.2 billion. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Business Spectator
14 March, 2013

Tall poppies

While not wishing to perpetuate cultural stereotypes, proverbs can say a lot about how our cultural values can influence student achievement. In Japan there is a famous saying: “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” And the Japanese classroom is the best place to observe young students being hammered down to size. Read more

Rose Patterson
Insights Newsletter
8 March, 2013

Switzerland has the right to build

Most New Zealanders probably know little about Switzerland. Until this week, my own knowledge certainly didn’t extend far beyond cheese, watches, and knives. Read more

Luke Malpass
Insights Newsletter
8 March, 2013

Has the RMA made the well-being of the community irrelevant?

I had the occasion last week to browse through the Proposed District Plan of a certain local authority in New Zealand in order to see how it assessed the costs and benefits to the community of its multitudinous restrictive provisions. The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) requires local authorities to “take into account the benefits and costs of policies, rules, or other methods” it puts into such plans. Read more

Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
Insights Newsletter
8 March, 2013

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