Reports & Media

When Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis visited his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble in Berlin last week, there was a telling scene at their joint press conference. Schäuble, in trying to keep a diplomatic semblance of harmony despite the fundamental disagreements between the two governments, claimed that they had “agreed to disagree”. Read more

Abel Tasman beach is not only a beautiful South Island spot. It also shows us the beauty of property rights. Read more

There are many things one might accuse the new Greek government of: scaring investors, breaching diplomatic protocol or rather odd sartorial choices. In fact, new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has ticked all those boxes in his first week in office. Read more

It turns out that you can both agree with Local Government New Zealand that we need to change how local government is financed, and with the Taxpayers’ Union that a lot of local governments could be more efficient. I think we can manage to hit both targets with one instrument in this case: fixing how local government is financed can help to make local government more efficient. Read more

There’s a lot to like in Local Government New Zealand’s report on local government finances. The report gets one very important thing right: It’s time that central government moved to tie local government finances more closely to local government performance to encourage development. Read more

Lower prices from productivity gains and lower import prices relative to export prices are a good thing. Yet many overseas commentators worry about price deflation. Read more

It turns out that you can both agree with Local Government New Zealand that we need to change how local government is financed, and with the Taxpayers’ Union that a lot of local governments could be more efficient. I think we can manage to hit both targets with one instrument in this case: fixing how local government is financed can help to make local government more efficient. Read more

After what have been a turbulent few weeks for the Australian Prime Minister, the isolated chirps that Abbott should resign have reached a united cacophony after the Queensland election last weekend. In fact, on Wednesday, iPredict was trading at a 75 percent probability that Abbott departs as leader by July. Read more

This is an organisation that is well acquainted with heated discussions on contentious topics. None, it turns out, as touchy as neckties. Read more

Before Christmas, The Dominion Post asked why public sector pay “hardly ever come[s] down” and whether it has to follow international and corporate trends. It is a reasonable concern, especially for taxpayers who ultimately foot the salary, but is it as simple as the numbers suggest? Read more

The biggest loser in Greece’s snap election was not even on the ballot paper. It was German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose austerity policies in the euro crisis were rejected by Greece’s swing to the radical left. Read more

Having become leader only a couple of months ago, there were great expectations for Andrew Little to spell out what Labour would focus on under his watch. He delivered in his ‘State of the Nation’ speech. Read more