Two proposed taxes - on petrol and water - in her first week could have voters believing the new Leader of the Opposition has something against fluids. Any such fears, though, should have been relieved when Jacinda Ardern sent a tweet last week showing the contents of her liquor cabinet rival Winston Peters’. Read more

In ancient Greek, a dogma was something that simply seemed to be true. Today, of course, it has a more absolute meaning. Read more

We all know two wrongs don’t make a right. But nor does getting something only half right. Read more

Some things just sound odd when delivered with an accent. Imagine a French exposition on the virtues of Marlborough sauvignon blanc or an Australian singing the praises of New Zealand’s weather. Read more

The past few months have seen a series of tweaks to New Zealand’s immigration settings. While criticised by opposition parties as election year tinkering, the changes have introduced greater flexibility for entry by highly skilled migrants. Read more

An unusual event took place among the leaders of New Zealand’s largest companies last week. Whether it was Air New Zealand’s Christopher Luxon, ASB Bank’s Barbara Chapman or delegation leader Fraser Whineray from Mercury, en masse they put aside their desk jobs to participate in The New Zealand Initiative’s week-long Go Swiss trip. Read more

What will Britain look like after Brexit? This is the dominant question in British politics right now. Read more

A weighty package from the Cato Institute, the US think tank, landed on my desk shortly before Easter. It contained an impressive 300-page tome called The Human Freedom Index 2016. Read more

Sometimes it is possible to want something too much. It can cloud your judgment and lead to decisions you will later regret. Read more

Water, water, everywhere – or so it has seemed. In the past few weeks we have had a deluge of controversies over water. Read more

For every complex problem there is always an easy solution – neat, plausible, and wrong. Or so once quipped HL Mencken, the American journalist, satirist and scholar. Read more

I am married to an immigrant. It is not something I often need to confront. Read more

Running away from a problem will rarely solve it. No matter how fast you run, sooner or later the problem will catch up with you. Read more