With Alert Level 1 approaching, there are few signs the Government has shifted its thinking towards capitalising on New Zealand’s coronavirus-free status. On Wednesday, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford fielded yet more criticism, this time for refusing to let an overseas fishing vessel undergo repairs at a Nelson shipyard. Read more

C. S. Read more

When told the French peasants had no bread during a famine, the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is said to have exclaimed “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!" – loosely translated as “Let them eat cake!” Last week’s calls for extra holidays to support the ailing tourism industry are just as out of touch. New Zealand is a nation of small businesses. Read more

New Zealand’s fortress of five million has repelled the coronavirus. But as Kiwis emerge from enforced curfew, some strategic thinking is needed to repair the carnage. Read more

In a world infected with a lethal virus, being virus-free is like being bullet proof. The coronavirus may have enveloped the globe, but it has been repelled by New Zealand’s five million-strong force field. Read more

The Government’s wage subsidy scheme has a lot going for it. After a few early wrinkles were ironed out the evidence suggests it has achieved its purpose, helping connect more than a million New Zealand workers with their employer. Read more

As the end of the world’s strictest lockdown nears, attention is turning to life after Covid-19. The coronavirus may not be defeated anytime soon, but a good deal of thought is needed about how to repair the destruction the virus has already caused to the economy. Read more

A fortnight is an eternity in the bewildering Covid-19 world. Two weeks ago, this column argued for a more coherent coronavirus strategy. Read more

If the Government’s decision to suspend most of the economy and send most Kiwis home for a month is successful, I will be one of the first to applaud. Covid-19 has cast me in the role of a vulnerable New Zealander. Read more

Professor Sir David Skegg raised the 64-thousand-dollar (or perhaps 64 billion-dollar) question in his testimony before Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee this week. He asked whether the government had a clear the strategic objective for its unprecedented level-four lockdown. Read more

The coronavirus lockdown is a challenge for every one of us. Every worker, family, charity, public institution and firm. Read more

In times of war, parts of the every-day rulebook for liberal democracies must be suspended. To protect personal and economic freedoms, in wartime governments must temporarily curb some of them. Read more

A paradox exists within the personal grievance provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000. By prohibiting “unjustified dismissal,” the provisions were designed to guard the jobs of ordinary workers. Read more

Counting by the number of times the phrases “gig economy” and “future of work” are mentioned by the news media, you could be forgiven for thinking full-time employment was a thing of the past. Yet last year the Productivity Commission reported the so-called gig economy was both small and showed no signs of rapid growth, either in New Zealand or in the 30 other countries for which data was available. Read more