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This is going to be a busy and difficult year for government. It is planning major changes to the health system, tertiary education, local government (the ‘Three Waters’), environmental rules and wage setting arrangements - while also struggling with COVID and the disaster which is housing policy. Read more

February weather forecasting on the Canadian prairies was relatively simple. Southerlies brought warmth. Read more

New Year’s and Christmas are traditional occasions to reminisce about the past twelve months and wonder what the next will bring. Looking in the back mirror is easier. Read more

Distance was supposed to be dead. The first dot-com boom promised an end to distance’s tyranny. Read more

It isn’t that a New Zealand drug approval agency is a bad idea per se. It’s rather that the one we have might not be worth having. Read more

If you’ve ever had concerns about economists’ ethical commitments, relax. It could be worse. Read more

Another Groundhog Day week in our never-ending Covid crisis. We got an announcement on Monday for another on Wednesday. Read more

The news that our public service is ranked second in the world, according to a UK survey, was overshadowed by two events last week which cast it in a less positive light. New Zealand’s public service placed second in the International Civil Service Effectiveness (InCiSE) Index from Oxford University. Read more

The Ministry of Health’s approach to Covid testing is going to kill people. For all of the past year, the Ministry has been horribly wrong about Covid testing systems. It has ignored substantial reviews of testing policy. Read more

Would you believe that the old story of Hansel and Gretel was based in fact? In 1963, Hans Trexler published a book I’m surprised that Oliver Hartwich hasn’t read: Die Wahrheit über Hänsel und Gretel. Read more