Imagining 19th-century schooling might bring to mind characters like Thomas Gradgrind from Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times. Gradgrind was a disciplinarian, obsessed with drilling facts into pupils' resistant brains. Read more
The Treasury's pre-election update showed spending up, revenue down and debt rising after three years of a government elected on restraint. Oliver and Damien ask who ends up as finance minister after 7 November, and whether any of them will confront superannuation and interest heading for $44 billion by 2031. Read more
Might the plunge in the value of the New Zealand dollar in the last five weeks make you poorer? The reason for asking is that, on 29 September, a New Zealand dollar bought 5.1% fewer US dollars than on 24 August, 3.1% fewer Australian dollars and 4.6% fewer units of the Reserve Bank’s basket of currencies. Read more
This month’s big housing story was not the Reserve Bank’s rate rise, whatever the media coverage suggested. Mortgage rate rises, the effect on house prices, whether the spring market will stall – all of it was reported, correctly, as housing news. Read more
Our Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton joined a panel of economists and commentators, Hilmarie Schulze (BERL), Max Rashbrooke, and VUW Students' Association president Aiden Donaghue, chaired by Infometrics' Brad Olsen, for Victoria University of Wellington's Aotearoa Votes election series, discussing what's working and not working in New Zealand's economy. Read more
In this episode, Michael talks with Dame Elizabeth Rata about her documentary lecture series on the history of education in New Zealand.
They discuss the 19th-century origins of free, compulsory and secular schooling, why Māori leaders pushed for village schools taught in English and Rata's argument that sociocultural knowledge has displaced subject knowledge in New Zealand classrooms.
The New Zealand Initiative · How New Zealand built its education system on classical liberal values Read more
If Labour forms government after the election, it will forgive a portion of some student loans. The policy announced on Sunday aims to leave graduates “with less debt, more of their income in their pocket, and a better chance to build their lives here in New Zealand.” The policy will certainly reduce the outstanding student loan balances of eligible borrowers. Read more
The Commerce Act forbids anticompetitive conduct. There are established processes for proving that commercial conduct is unlawful, with penalties and remedies that follow. Read more
When law firms advise foreign clients on investing in New Zealand, they usually include some version of the same paragraph. It describes the country as a stable democracy with independent courts, secure property rights and predictable politics, and for decades nobody had to think twice before writing it. Read more
Over the past couple of months, we have heard mounting alarm from business leaders about this election campaign. They are asking whether New Zealand still welcomes people willing to invest here. Read more
This election, the standout issue is the cost of living. It’s all the focus groups want to talk about. Read more
Last week, Labour announced its flagship education policy for the election. If it wins in November, it will introduce a new statutory authority, called the Independent Council for Curriculum and Assessment (ICCA). Read more
Nicky Hager's new book on the Taxpayers' Union has had several of its claims publicly contradicted within days of publication. Oliver and Damien discuss the fallout and what it has already cost the organisation. Read more
In two polls taken in the second half of August, One Nation stood five or six points ahead of the Coalition. In a third, it trailed by one. Read more
The 2026 election campaign has not got off to a good start for business – or for the country. National, Labour, the Greens and New Zealand First have each made dangerous promises to intervene in private commercial arrangements. Read more