While studying psychology, my fellow students and I replicated a famous study conducted by B.F. Skinner in the 1940s. Read more
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nikora v Kruger [2024] NZSC 130 has conjured up a revolutionary new principle of property law. According to our highest court, land can be beneficially owned by the dead. Read more
When a council needs adult supervision, something has gone seriously wrong. Local Government Minister Simeon Brown's intention to appoint a Crown Observer to Wellington City Council reflects mounting frustration with the capital's governance. Read more
2024 is a significant year for elections with over 60 countries having been to the polls or are going to the polls this year. The United States election on 5 November is without doubt the most consequential. Read more
Having worked at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney from 2008 to 2012, I know how inspirational the think tank’s annual Consilium conference can be. Last week’s gathering on the Gold Coast certainly was, not least because of a remarkable speech by historian Sir Niall Ferguson. Read more
Wellington City Council’s recent turmoil highlights a widespread misunderstanding of New Zealand’s local governance. Most Kiwis believe mayors wield significant power over councils. Read more
On Tuesday, Ngāi Tahu set a compelling vision of tino rangatiratanga centred on economic self-determination. The late Māori King Arikinui Tuheitia asked iwi and hapū to hold four hui to build ‘kotahitanga’ – unity. Read more
A few weeks ago, soon after checking into my hotel in Varanasi, I got a knock at my door. It was the manager, asking if I’d noticed that my visa was about to run out in precisely twenty-four hours. Read more
Jordan Peterson’s latest message to his followers is a masterclass in rhetorical sleight of hand. Peterson delivered a keynote address at last week’s ARC conference in Sydney, which was also broadcast on Sky News Australia. Read more
My recent column, “Parliament should rein in our runaway Supreme Court,” sounded the alarm on a troubling trend. Our highest court is overstepping its bounds, reshaping laws in ways that challenge Parliament’s authority. Read more
Only a few days after the University of Auckland’s so-called academic freedom policy was rejected by the university’s Senate, Victoria University of Wellington’s own academic freedom policy has come to light. Victoria’s policy is likely a response to the government’s stated intention to make such policies a condition for government funding. Read more
In February this year, I wrote about a surprising decision from New Zealand’s Supreme Court (Absurd: New Zealand courts can now decide on climate change, 5 February 2024). The Court allowed a climate change case against seven large companies to proceed, despite New Zealand’s emissions being a mere rounding error in global terms. This decision was not an isolated incident. Read more
If you haven’t yet read Aaron Smale’s series on abuse in care, you really should. New Zealand doesn’t have a Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism, but the series would rightly be up for nomination. Read more
Fertility rates have been dropping for a very long time, but the recent plunge is precipitous. Neil Johnson, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Flinders University, took us through the numbers at a panel session for Fertility Counts Aotearoa at Parliament last week. Read more
Picture a country where unelected judges, not elected politicians, make the laws. Where courts rewrite statutes they do not like and reshape long-standing legal rules based on their views of ‘society’s changing values.’ Sound far-fetched? Read more