Search

New Zealand moves inexorably from the ‘faff around’ to the ‘find out’ phase of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill process. On Friday, Google’s New Zealand blog noted that if the bill becomes law, Google would be “forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News, or Discover surfaces in New Zealand and discontinue our current commercial agreements and ecosystem support with New Zealand news publishers.” Google described the Bill as setting a ‘link tax’. Read more

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins has said that the Labour Party is looking at campaigning in 2026 on the need for heavier taxation. Capital gains taxes, wealth taxes and a land tax are “back on the table”. Read more

People with office jobs typically find it hard to explain what they do. Government officials are no exception. Read more

Misguided good intentions paved the way for this winter’s energy crisis. Fortunately, the country has avoided blackouts. Read more

Classic-era Simpsons episodes may not have had the solutions to all of life’s problems, but they did get a few things right. Be sceptical of monorail salesmen. Read more

A short walk from Wellington’s shiny Tākina Convention Centre, a burst water main floods Kent Terrace. This contrast between impressive civic buildings and failing infrastructure captures local government's challenge: finding a balance between ambition, financial responsibility, independence and accountability. Read more

A Bargain Chemist in Upper Hutt has been unable to dispense prescriptions since it opened in 2022. Its website simply notes “Prescriptions not currently available”. Read more

Captain Williard’s response to Colonel Kurtz’s question about his methods, in Apocalypse Now, is among the most classic lines in cinema. Kurtz, who had clearly gone mad, asked Willard whether Willard saw Kurtz’s methods as unsound. Read more