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The way the government tries to protect us against earthquake risks, and to protect heritage buildings against change, share a common problem. Government agencies have a very difficult time generating the information necessary for making good decisions in both cases. Read more

Last week, we applauded Housing Minister Chris Bishop for his housing policy proposals. Incentives for councils to promote growth perfectly match Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s repeated calls for localism. Read more

The Housing Theory of Everything has one of those wonderful self-explanatory titles. A good title matters. Read more

Transport historian Dr André Brett has suggested that Wellington be renamed Lowerer Hutt, perhaps to help avoid confusion within the region. Economists Matthew Maltman and Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy have been looking at Lower Hutt’s housing boom. Read more

It might still be a longshot. But an interesting thread ran through this year’s Waitangi speeches and interviews. Read more

The way New Zealand’s councils decide whether they have zoned sufficient land for development makes it hard to zone sufficient land for development. The problem is not any specific analysis. Read more

If a council’s zoning plans are wrong, it is hard for anything else to be right. If building enough housing in places where people want to live is forbidden, housing will be scarce, rents and house prices will be too high, and every other ‘wellbeing’ that councils try to deliver will suffer. Read more

I would not usually devote a column for The Australian to problems with a New Zealand local council. Nevertheless, the city in question is the capital, so I will make an exception. Read more