It does not happen every day that I find myself in agreement with the Ministry of Education. But their reasoning for introducing a New Zealand history curriculum is sound. Read more
UK political commentator Jeremy Driver put his finger on something important about his country’s failure to deal sensibly with Covid. It’s something that has also been rather easy to see from half-way around the world. Read more
In this week's podcast, our Operations Director Chelsy Killick talks with Oliver Hartwich about the Government's proposal for a new New Zealand history curriculum. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
If you want to get into New Zealand during the pandemic, it’s not that hard. The government just needs to consider you to be a priority for a scarce managed isolation space. Read more
This week, the New Zealand Herald reported that parents have swamped after-school tuition firms. One tutoring company said their phones “have been ringing non-stop”. This follows the formation of a Royal Society expert panel by the Ministry of Education. Read more
When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. That is what it must be like for the government in the housing crisis. Read more
In this week's podcast, Oliver Hartwich expands on his Newsroom column (9 February), where he discusses how the EU's Covid-19 vaccine rollout disaster is shredding the Commission's credibility. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
No one should doubt the importance of a sound understanding of mathematics in the future workplace. A recent study by the National Maths and Science Initiative found that 16 of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the United States require substantial mathematics or science understanding. Read more
Suppose a tear in the spacetime continuum had delivered you a copy of December quarter 2020’s employment statistics one year early. You had received the key graphs on the employment rate, the unemployment rate, labour force participation rates and underutilisation rates for the year to come – but none of the accompanying discussion. Read more
In his latest podcast on Newstalk ZB, Leighton Smith talks to Matt Burgess about the Climate Change Commission's report on emissions reduction and its implications for New Zealand. Read more
The Government announced that the Resource Management act is going to be scrapped and replaced with three new laws. Bryce Wilkinson talks to Jesse Mulligan on Radio NZ about why the RMA was no longer fit for purpose and how the new laws can address the issues that are left in its wake. Read more
Do you remember Jacques Santer? If you do, it is probably because Monsieur Santer was the first President of the European Commission to resign from office. Read more
Call me a tragic but even in my spare time, I am thinking about politics. Thus, over the summer holidays, I stumbled across a new computer game: Democracy 4. Read more
Mike Hosking reads out Matt Burgess’ opinion piece (published in the NZ Herald) about the Climate Change Commission's plans to reduce emissions. Matt points out that New Zealand already has a system for reducing emissions called the Emissions Trading Scheme, which puts a price on greenhouse gases. Read more
This week, the Climate Change Commission told the government it should take control of the economy to lower emissions. The Commission’s advice, part of its draft emissions budgets to 2035, was based on doubts that New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be enough. Read more