After decades of shadow boxing and talking about it, the prospect of a trans-Atlantic free trade bloc is a big step closer. On July 8, formal talks began for a US-EU free trade zone, the largest free-trade agreement ever negotiated. Read more
General elections are meant to pick a government and election campaigns to discuss the most important issues facing a country. If that’s your definition of an election, you may wonder whether Germany is really heading to the polls on September 22. Read more
The wowsers are back on a futile mission to enforce public morality through statute. In Australia, as in New Zealand, a new temperance movement is testing the boundaries of prohibition to encourage better manners. Read more
The New Zealand Herald ran two contributions on the housing affordability debate this week. The first was by the Bank of New Zealand’s Tony Alexander advocating the restriction of foreign investment in housing. Read more
Last week I heard a 60-something-year-old talk about getting some files out of his ‘machine’. I imagined some kind of futuristic filing cabinet but it turns out he was talking about his computer. Read more
Australia is often referred to as the “lucky country”. However, what most Kiwis (and many Australians) don’t know is that Donald Horne was being unkind when he coined the phrase in the 1960s, the full sentence being: “run by second-rate people who share its luck.” Former Finance Minister Michael Cullen once said of Australia: “It’s nothing to do with their intrinsic superiority or less regulation or whatever, it’s because they’ve got this vast mineral wealth. Read more
On Monday, European finance ministers agreed to the release of €6.8 billion for Greece. This followed the latest report of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund troika on Greek reform and austerity measures. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative is bringing Nick Cater to New Zealand to launch his book The Lucky Culture on 15 July in Wellington, 16 July in Auckland and 17 July in Christchurch. The Lucky Culture and the rise of an Australian ruling class, published by Harper Collins, is a bold and provocative book about Australia’s national identity and how it is threatened by the rise of an aspiring ruling class. Read more
Last week, the OECD published Education at a Glance 2013, comparing education indicators across 42 countries. Ministers Steven Joyce and Hekia Parata highlighted a few points of interest. Read more
One of the great, yet little known Kiwi academic giants has passed away. Professor Kenneth Robert Minogue, a New Zealander by birth, Australian by upbringing, and Englishman in his working life, has died at 83. Read more
A few years ago, my pet hates in the English language were narrowly defined. They were the handful of words and phrases football star David Beckham typically uttered when reporters courageously interviewed him. Read more
Sometimes Australia seems an odd country indeed. Kevin Rudd’s elevation to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) leadership last week after three years spent undermining his own leader, colleagues and political party, is the latest astonishing development. Read more
Of all the aspects of the euro crisis, the most worrying one is the effect it has had on the younger generation. Across Europe, youth unemployment has reached such proportions there is talk about a lost generation. Read more
There has been no shortage of excitement in Australian politics in recent years. Treachery, back-stabbing, scandals and defections are among the staples of Australian democracy (which one might now instinctively misspell as demo-crazy). Read more