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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
Budget 2013 confirms the government's determination to achieve fiscal surpluses by 2014/15 by stopping the growth in government spending. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, projected government spending in 2014/15 will be 6% lower than in 2008/9, the year in which John Key's government took office. Read more
Early this week, the government announced a rather distasteful plan. In return for giving regulatory favours to the Sky City Casino in the form of more favourable gambling regulations, the casino will build a massive conference centre. Read more
Standing atop Mount Victoria last Sunday, looking over Wellington basked in glorious sunshine, I was quietly confirming to myself that I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Not in Germany where I grew up. Read more
The economics of the opposition’s plan to introduce a single-buyer model for wholesale electricity is highly dubious, as I explain in my column in The National Business Review today. But that’s not the only questionable thing about it. Read more
Last week, the government proposed changing the way food manufacturers label their products. Manufacturers will no longer be able to make health claims unless backed with scientific evidence. Read more
This week, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its dramatically titled annual democracy index: ‘Democracy at a standstill.’ New Zealand scored well, as should be expected. According to the EIU, we are the fifth most democratic nation on the planet, being only marginally less democratic than the obligatory Scandinavians: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark. Read more
On 6 May, it will be three years since the United Kingdom elected its first coalition government since World War II. The Cameron government has made rescuing public finances its most important goal – with the Coalition Agreement giving deficit reduction precedence over all other measures. Read more
As readers of Insights will no doubt be aware Baroness Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, died this week at 87. Amid generous tributes, and rotten and distasteful rallies celebrating her passing, it is worth remembering her achievements and failings as prime minister. Read more
Amid the doom and gloom in New Zealand retirement saving rates, there is a certain wistful longing for the system across the Tasman: superannuation in Australia has a contribution of up to 12%, has been around for 20 years, is compulsory, and has generated a massive pool of domestic savings. What’s more, your employer is compelled to pay it! Read more