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The wowsers are back on a futile mission to enforce public morality through statute. In Australia, as in New Zealand, a new temperance movement is testing the boundaries of prohibition to encourage better manners. Read more
One of the great, yet little known Kiwi academic giants has passed away. Professor Kenneth Robert Minogue, a New Zealander by birth, Australian by upbringing, and Englishman in his working life, has died at 83. Read more
There has been no shortage of excitement in Australian politics in recent years. Treachery, back-stabbing, scandals and defections are among the staples of Australian democracy (which one might now instinctively misspell as demo-crazy). Read more
Recently the government announced it would fund KickStart, a breakfast-in-schools programme designed specifically for decile 1 to 4 schools. The announcement was generally well received but did raise an uncomfortable question: is it the state’s role to feed people’s kids? Read more
Has the Australian Labor Party (ALP) lost the plot? The evidence suggests as much after the governing party’s fifth successful leadership coup in 10 years returned Kevin Rudd to the office of Prime Minister on Wednesday. Read more
It is one of those ideas that come up again and again without ever being properly scrutinised – that a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) like Norway’s is a fantastic idea that deserves to be copied elsewhere, even in New Zealand. Last week, the National Business Review reported that Methanex New Zealand chief executive Harvey Weake is making the case for a Norwegian-style SWF. Read more
When the opposition released its report on Monday into the inquiry of the so-called manufacturing crisis, it was hard not to be underwhelmed. Manufacturing: The New Consensus argues that New Zealand manufacturing is in a parlous state and that several key government interventions are required to help the sector. Read more
Privatisation provides an interesting case study for free-marketeers. Almost everyone is opposed to the notion, yet those same people often buy the stock. Read more
When the financial crisis started about six years ago, the global policy response was a mixture of monetary and fiscal stimulus. Governments increased spending and hoped for multiplier effects. Read more
It is a difficult time for social democrats. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and liberalisation programmes here and abroad, old school socialists and social democrats have struggled to come to terms with the changing tides of time. Read more