Reports & Media

We can learn a lot from Australia. Routinely ranked among the best places in the world to call home, the lucky country has a climate to die for, a robust economy, and a culture that celebrates winning. Read more

Last month, Ireland taught the All Blacks a thing or two about rugby. Yet New Zealand has even more to learn from the Irish about productivity and prosperity. Read more

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr coined this well-known aphorism in his 1848 novel Les Guêpes (The Wasps). Read more

Have you heard of Leonardo's masterpiece, The Muppets' Last Supper? Or Kandinsky's colourful Swirling Music Notes? Read more

The Royal Society of New Zealand exists, so its website proclaims, to further and promote “the pursuit of knowledge”. But is knowledge now taking a back seat to politics? Read more

During the European sovereign debt crisis, I contributed a regular column to the Australian magazine Business Spectator. One week, I noticed a tiny bit of hope, which I wanted to write about. Read more

A dinner game Gather round, children. I have a sad fable to tell. Read more

Everyone knows the expression, ‘you have to be cruel to be kind’. A suggestion to shorten the school holidays might well be perceived as cruel. Read more

There is an old tradition in academia to publish a Festschrift to honour significant birthdays of eminent scholars. It is not something we do in think tank land, so we should at least celebrate Bryce Wilkinson’s 75th birthday in Insights. Read more

“The ownership of these [water] entities sits with local bodies and government. … Local government retains ownership. Read more