Reports & Media

“How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?”, asked Charles de Gaulle in 1962. Well, after its forthcoming elections, a plethora of cheese varieties may be the least of France’s problems. Risks abound for both France and Europe. Read more

Last week the government announced a comprehensive review of the country's Workplace Health and Safety regulation. There are good reasons for it to do so. Read more

When it comes to international diplomacy, few nations can match New Zealand’s knack for unintentional hilarity. This week, we have once again found ourselves in the global spotlight, thanks to a series of aviation mishaps. Read more

In the 2024 budget, substantial funding was announced to move teacher education towards an in-school, apprenticeship-style model. The injection of funding is intended to address the shortage of teachers currently facing our schools. Read more

New technology typically inspires both utopian dreams and dystopian fears. AI is a salient example of this optimism-pessimism dichotomy. Read more

It is about 18 months since the release of Chat-GPT, the first widely available ‘large-language’ artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. Even in that time, the capabilities of AI have massively improved. Read more

How New Zealand funds and finances infrastructure is a billion-dollar question. In Budget 2024, the Government forecasts that more than $68 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the next five years – a significant capital investment in roads, rail and other projects. Read more

The other day, I popped into a café in Wellington for my usual flat white. As I waited for my coffee, I noticed a selection of nut packages on display. Read more

Alcohol policy is always contentious – but let’s start with something that should be uncontroversial: If the government wants to reduce alcohol-related harm, it should aim for measures that do more good than harm overall. If a harm-reducing policy stacks up, it does so whether the overall social cost of alcohol is $10 billion, $1 billion, or $100 million. Read more

When Guyon Espiner reported on a police estimate of ‘$7.8b harm from booze’, I was curious whether the figure was the old BERL alcohol cost zombie back again from the dead to torment the living. The BERL number included drinkers’ spending on their own alcohol – not a ‘social cost’ by any reasonable standard. Read more