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Two cars pull up to a traffic light. One is a farmer in his trusty ute. Read more

Last week's protests by farmers show it is only a matter of time until the Government's punitive approach on emissions will fail. With each new policy the Government is burning political capital at a faster rate than it is cutting emissions. Read more

When opposition parties produce policy documents, they can be overly simplistic and populist. They can be unrealistic because they do not have to be implemented straight away. Read more

In my book, governments that do not publish a competent cost-benefit assessment justifying their spending and regulatory proposals do not take community wellbeing seriously.(Only if the wellbeing benefits plausibly exceed the costs is the policy likely to benefit the public.) The absence of such an assessment is now common. It suggests that a measure is being imposed on the public for partisan or elitist, paternalistic reasons. Read more

In 1870, British Prime Minister William Gladstone up-ended Britain’s civil service. Instead of officials being appointed by politicians following changes of government, Gladstone’s reforms introduced a permanent, politically independent public service. Read more

When the government set a binding cap on New Zealand’s net emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme, it also set a second cap – on prices. The hope was that that second cap would not really be needed, but it looks like it might become relevant rather sooner than anyone expected. Read more

We all wish Helen Clark a long life. At the same time, that prospect makes us nervous. Read more

Treasury’s report this week on long term fiscal position does not make easy reading. Based on historical trends, the analysis shows government spending will consume 43% of GDP, up from 33% currently, by 2061. Read more