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If migrants are generally good for New Zealand and already contribute substantially to the public purse, why on earth would The New Zealand Initiative have suggested a levy on new migrants? The Initiative’s report on immigration, The New New Zealanders: Why migrants make good Kiwis, finds that New Zealand’s current immigration system is broadly successful but some tweaks could be worth considering. Read more

What I really love about the rest of the world is that as it gets crazier, we stay the same sane. Or at least mostly so. Read more

This week brought furore over the thirteen thousand (or so) youths neither in education, employment or training. Employers complained of difficulty finding suitable candidates who can pass a drug test. Read more

Resistance to the social bonds pilot has essentially boxed Labour and the Greens into a corner. Social bonds (or Social Impact Bonds as they are known internationally), after all, have traditionally been introduced by left-wing governments. Read more

As a German living in New Zealand, I have the rare privilege of following not one but two election campaigns this year. Both of them are fought under the obscure MMP electoral system, and both of them are culminating on the same weekend. Read more

It is more likely for a dog to compile an inventory of sausages than for a politician to build up financial reserves. At least that is how one former German finance minister, the late Franz Josef Strauss, once described the constant temptations for fiscal policy. Read more

I am married to an immigrant. It is not something I often need to confront. Read more