As the year comes to a close, it is natural to reflect on both the good and the bad of the past twelve months. This year has been tough, with wars, inflation, and the fallout from the pandemic. Read more
Bad constitutional processes are necessarily worse than bad policy processes. Constitutions, whether written or unwritten, are our basic rules about how we make laws and elect representatives. Read more
A job you didn’t get that would never have been fulfilling. A breakup that turned out to be a dodged bullet. Read more
Perhaps the timing was simply a coincidence. But not long after central government firmed up its intention to take water infrastructure away from local government, and its intention to shift planning up from local councils to regional bodies, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta opened a review of local government. Read more
A rowboat drifts at sea, water seeping in from a hole in its side. Its captain has engineered all kinds of ingenious devices to bail out the boat and to dry sodden things. Read more
The Auditor-General is deeply concerned “about a lack of transparency and accountability over the spending of public money”. On 14 November, he took the extraordinary step of writing to Parliament's Speaker, Adrian Rurawhe and the chairs of two select committees about the problem. Read more
The Royal Commission announced this week will not help voters provide better-informed brickbats or bouquets in 2023. The inquiry will focus instead on lessons for future pandemics and will report back well after the election. Read more
Many students … intuitively know what the schools do for them. They school them to confuse process and substance … to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new. Read more
The first principle of medicine is “do no harm”. It should be the first principle of economic policy too, especially heading into an election year. Read more
Newly appointed Royal Commission of Inquiry chair, Professor Tony Blakely, says he is happy with the terms of reference for his inquiry. But should we be? Read more
Parliament monopolised the attention of public and constitutional law experts late last month. And for good reason. Read more
In 2017, when Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s Prime Minister, she set out to transform policy-making. Her administration was meant to be the most open, honest, and transparent in history. Read more
When Auckland topped the Global Liveability Index in 2021, something seemed wrong. The report's authors had clearly never tried to buy a house in the City of Sails. Read more
There’s a fundamental arbitrariness to almost any voting age. Except one. Read more
This morning’s newspapers carried a full-page open letter from 42,576 signatories pointing out how undemocratic is one aspect of the Government’s three waters legislation. The Government’s Bill confiscates local communities’ investment in water assets without compensation, and wrecks their future governance. Read more