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If your main source of information on this year’s cannabis referendum were the Say Nope To Dope campaign, it would be pretty easy to imagine marijuana-leaf decorated cannabis shops on every corner. Contrary to that campaign’s full-page ads portraying classic Kiwi dairies turned into garish marijuana stores, the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill is rather restrictive. Read more

Voting is not a duty. But if you do vote, you should vote well. Read more

Last week’s UNICEF report on child wellbeing gets one big thing very right. Important parts of government policy are failing children. Read more

Should a convicted fraudster be allowed to work as an insolvency practitioner? If your spontaneous answer is “no way!”, then you agree with the board of RITANZ, the professional body for insolvency practitioners. Read more

There must be a German word for it: That feeling when you are enjoying something that is just not quite right. Not a guilty pleasure, more an incorrect one. Read more

In a predictable statement earlier this week, the Green Party co-leader declared her party’s undying love for taxation. A rather Orwellian take on the libertarian war cry of “tax is theft,” Marama Davidson said those who fork out money to the state are world-saving humanitarians since “tax is love.” In the spirit of this wonderful reframing of charity, I propose a few more ideas so Kiwis can help spread the “love.” A good place to start is property rights. Read more

A good project manager knows that unnecessary bells and whistles endanger a project's aims. Gold-plating a specification wastes resources and threatens a venture’s viability. The same is also true of public policy. Read more