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The story has been going on for so long that it is hard to imagine daily news without Kim Dotcom. Ever since the controversial internet entrepreneur’s arrest on his Auckland estate, which is as oversized as his personality, the Dotcom saga has fluctuated between spy story, political scandal, and soap opera. Read more

Around the world, leftist intellectuals have used Sweden as a poster child for the idea that socialism can simultaneously lead to prosperity and equality. Proponents of free enterprise usually don’t know how to respond to such statements. Read more

Celebrating what New Zealand is good at seems a natural choice to me. And New Zealand’s simple approach to governance is often a critical component. Read more

A disclosure: I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. Indeed, I abhor the smell of tobacco and pestered my parents into giving up smoking when I was child. Read more

The new governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Graeme Wheeler, just signed a slightly revised policy target agreement with a greater focus on financial stability, but for some this is not going far enough. A curious coalition of exporters, newspaper commentators, Labour, the Green Party, and New Zealand First wants the RBNZ to relinquish its traditional focus on inflation. Read more

Australia’s economic prosperity has been luring Kiwis across the ditch for years. After a talk this week at The New Zealand Initiative by The Australian newspaper’s economic correspondent, Adam Creighton, it is beginning to become clear why. Read more

This past week there has been much speculation about the Lobbying Disclosure Bill put forward by Green MP Holly Walker. The bill has come under criticism for being poorly drafted and far too broad in scope. Read more

Last week a lucky Lotto player won $27 million. All the attention the game has been receiving recently makes this a good time to ask why it is still run by the state? Read more

For the past two weeks, I have been attending conferences in Europe. Following the general meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in Prague, I spoke at the European Resource Bank in Brussels. Read more

New Zealanders often face calls for an Australian-style compulsory superannuation scheme that would expand Kiwisaver by making it compulsory. This is a multi-faceted issue and is worth reflecting on, particularly the political economy aspect. Read more