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Last Thursday night, former Australian Prime Minister Hon John Howard spoke at The New Zealand Initiative's inaugural retreat in Auckland. Below is an edited excerpt of his speech in which shared his views on think tanks and how they influenced him during his time as a politician. Read more
Manufacturers and exporters have been complaining about the high Kiwi dollar for a long time. Opposition politicians are openly toying with the idea of changing the Reserve Bank’s mandate to manipulate the exchange rate downwards. Read more
Will it be Rudd or Gillard? The Australian Labor government’s fortunes are at an all-time low; Prime Minister Julia Gillard has emerged victorious; and the most talented and respected members of her cabinet have resigned. Read more
On Wednesday, Labour MP Louisa Wall’s private members bill passed its second reading in Parliament. If passed into legislation, the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill will allow same-sex couples to marry. Read more
Governments use the minimum wage to keep workers with the least skills or work experience out of work, albeit as an undesired consequence rather than a direct intent. School-leavers have the least work experience – in addition, the lack of basic standards of literacy and numeracy is an enormous handicap for 10% to 20% of school-leavers. Read more
Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate (“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”) is written above the gates of hell in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Following last weekend’s elections, this gloomy admonishment might fit Italy as well. Read more
The battle between motorists and cyclists never ends. Motorists think cyclists are pests and shouldn’t be allowed to ride on the roads because they block the way and are accidents waiting to happen. Read more
Prime Minister John Key wants to change a constitutional settlement that has lasted 173 years. He proposes to extend parliamentary terms to four years, with a fixed election date at the end. Read more
When it comes to parliamentary term lengths and etiquette, my colleague and boss Dr Oliver Hartwich is sadly misguided. The arguments for four- (or five-) year fixed parliamentary term can be summed up as stability, predictability and giving government time to implement its agenda. Read more
Germany is Europe’s model economy. It is a prosperous, well-governed, and efficient country. Read more