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If you try to make a balloon smaller by squeezing it, you should be careful. It tends not to work well. Read more
Making the most of our Covid-free status could open the way for New Zealand to host sports events such as the Six Nations rugby tournament. The Government could let in more athletes, film crews, and university students under a well-managed re-opening of our borders. Read more
The Covid-19 crisis has quickly evolved from a health issue into an economic threat. The science was largely clear about what should be done to combat a pandemic, although historians will be the judge of those decisions, but there are plenty of competing ideas now about how to protect the economy after a pandemic. Read more
To understand the mindset of European elites, it is worth going back to the words of the founding godfather or European integration, Jean Monnet: “Europe will be forged in crises and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises." Monnet’s spirit of integration was alive in last week’s proposal to create a €750 billion fund to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis. It is a gutsy move which pushes European fiscal integration to a new level. Read more
When told the French peasants had no bread during a famine, the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is said to have exclaimed “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!" – loosely translated as “Let them eat cake!” Last week’s calls for extra holidays to support the ailing tourism industry are just as out of touch. New Zealand is a nation of small businesses. Read more
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan deserve praise for fighting Covid-19. While Singapore and South Korea were hit with a second outbreak, their robust containment measures have kicked back in to stop rapid spread of the virus once more. Read more
It was in 1986 when Paul Keating, then Australia’s Treasurer, made a famous remark: “If this Government cannot get the adjustment, get manufacturing going again, and keep moderate wage outcomes and a sensible economic policy, then Australia is basically done for,” Keating warned on the John Laws radio programme. “We will just end up being a third-rate economy, a banana republic.” In hindsight, Keating might have exaggerated. Read more
Since the first cases of the Covid-19 virus emerged in the Chinese province of Wuhan, several East Asian countries including Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have successfully 'flattened the curve' of infection rates. The three countries used common public policies in the first 50 days since each registered their 100th case. Read more
Wellington 25 May 2020 - To prepare for the next virus pandemic, New Zealand has plenty to learn from the successes of three East Asian states, according to a summary report from The New Zealand Initiative. Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan all successfully “flattened the epidemiological curve” early in their Covid-19 pandemic responses. Read more
This week, opinion polls revealed that the Government is more popular than ever. On current figures, Labour could comfortably govern alone, the Prime Minister’s ratings are stratospheric, and nine in ten New Zealanders approve of the Government’s handling of the public health crisis. Read more