Local government is fundamentally broken because of the way councils are financed, how the costs and benefits of urban growth are divvied up, and the incentives thus created. Councils bear the costs of growth. Read more

One year ago, in a desperate rush, the government launched the wage subsidy scheme. It had to be done in a hurry; every other option was worse. Read more

The recipe for creating conflict over scarce and congestible resources is really rather simple. Start with beautiful natural spaces that attract visitors. Read more

In the classic Simpsons’ episode “The Old Man and the Lisa”, young environmentalist Lisa Simpson finally convinced the rather evil Mr Burns of the merits of recycling. Of course, it did not go well. Read more

It’s a good thing I don’t vape. If I did, I’d be depressed about the Ministry of Health’s proposed vaping regulations. Read more

Amid all of the discussions of the Climate Commission’s draft report on New Zealand’s climate change response, it is too easy to lose track of the target. The goal isn’t to reach specific electric vehicle targets, though we would expect more people to shift away from petrol as petrol costs increase and as electric vehicles become more competitive. Read more

During the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, surgeon ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce wrote a letter home explaining the difference between surgery at a Korean War mobile surgical hospital, and the surgery back home. In normal surgery, you have time to get everything right. Read more

Academic debates are rarely high stakes. Compared with the kind of work the Climate Change Commission is doing, debates among academics are of almost no consequence at all. Read more

Urban land use planning systems that load councils with the costs of urban growth while letting councils decide whether new housing can be built are a recipe for failure. This underpins a decade of low build rates, a substantial housing shortage, and skyrocketing house prices. Read more