For over three decades, the Resource Management Act has been a significant hindrance to New Zealand's economic growth. It promised sustainable management but delivered housing crises, infrastructure delays, stifled productivity and environmental decline. Read more
In many countries, an educational study claiming a radical improvement in mathematics learning would receive considerable media attention. But not, it seems, in New Zealand. Read more
A plan typically answers straightforward questions: what is needed, what should be done first, and why. This month, Ministers will receive the Infrastructure Commission’s 30-year National Infrastructure Plan. Read more
Let me state this clearly at the outset: I have never placed a bet on a greyhound. I have never owned a greyhound. Read more
Let us try a brief experiment. Here is a statement of American strategic priorities: “The United States cannot survive as a free and independent nation if a hostile power dominates any region of the world from which it could threaten the US. Read more
Science embraces uncertainty. Scientists formulate theories to explain natural phenomena based on the available evidence. Read more
Last year, Inland Revenue wrote off $694.5 million in company tax debt. Much will never be recovered because the companies that owed it no longer exist – at least not in their original form. Read more
Last week, Sir Bill English told RNZ that New Zealand has reached “amazing, almost bipartisan” agreement on housing. Coincidentally, we recorded Part 2 of our Competitive Urban Land Markets podcast around the same time with former Housing Minister Phil Twyford. Read more
When everything had gone wrong and Homer Simpson couldn’t afford Christmas presents for the family, he took a punt. He went to the dog track and bet on a promisingly named greyhound: Santa’s Little Helper. Read more
This week, Commissioner Richard Chambers announced new targets for trust and confidence in police. They will mean little if the organisation continues to treat deliberate dishonesty as a minor employment matter. Read more
Every year, Inland Revenue writes off hundreds of millions in tax debt – $694.5 million last year alone. The money vanishes through the same predictable loopholes, exploited by the same cast of characters: directors who accumulate GST and PAYE debts, then walk away scot-free by abandoning their companies. Read more
Walk through Wellington, and you will see plenty of empty shopfronts and shuttered cafes. Switch on the radio, and you will hear experts say this is the best time to buy a house in years. Read more
Damien Grant isn’t normally the one making the case that the government needs to take more in tax. The liquidator and libertarian-minded columnist over at the Sunday Star Times more typically wants what libertarians generally want – a government that spends less and that can let each of us keep more of our own money. Read more
When plans to abolish regional councils were first rumoured, I was more than mildly sceptical. It isn’t that I’m a giant fan of regional councils; I couldn’t name more than a couple of my own regional councillors, and I bet most of you can’t either. Read more
If you enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey (either the book or the movie), there’s no guarantee that you will enjoy Fifty Shades of Grades, the research note on grade distribution at New Zealand universities that I released earlier this week. Still, I like to think that the latter has enough titillating detail, spanking new analysis, and breath-taking climaxes (if only of series of data) to satisfy most readers. Read more
