OPINION

On 14 October, the same day Australia will vote on the Voice referendum, New Zealanders will also go to the polls, to elect a new Parliament. But where the choice in Australia is between a relatively straightforward ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, things are not quite as clear-cut in New Zealand. Read more

Tuesday’s Treasury’s pre-election forecasts confirmed that Government spending exceeds revenue by more than what was forecast in the May 2023 Budget. Far too many commentators are concluding the increase is not too bad. Read more

Good teachers need to be many things. They must be experts in the knowledge they teach. Read more

In June, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand told us something surprising. It said it had never banned experts in monetary policy from serving as external members of the Monetary Policy Committee. Read more

Some surveys require interpretation. Others speak for themselves. Read more

It is brave to invite an historian to speak at a conference about the future. As the Scottish historian Tom Devine once quipped, the future was not his time period. Read more

It was a sunny morning in 2040. I got on my electric bike and rode through my Auckland neighbourhood. Read more

Earlier in the year, this column argued for a public service reset. It was prompted partly by the ballooning size of public sector headcount. Read more

You may be forgiven for not knowing who Michael Ashcroft is. In this country, he is hardly a household name. Read more

When land prices are wrong, it’s hard for anything to be right. When zoning makes it too hard to build in places where people want to live, land prices will be out of whack. Read more

“God’s own country” was how our longest-serving Prime Minister, Richard “King Dick” Seddon described New Zealand. The moniker he popularised for his country also proved enduring – even if by the late 20th century, it had become abbreviated to “Godzone.” Yet, as the 2023 general election approaches, New Zealand feels less blessed than it has in the past. Read more

When land prices are wrong, it’s hard for anything to be right. When zoning makes it too hard to build in places where people want to live, land prices will be out of whack. Read more

At the end of the Cold War, western governments substantially reduced military expenditure. US President Bush and UK Prime Minister Thatcher called it the “peace dividend.” It was not a “dividend” in any normal sense of the term. Read more

This week, the National Party revealed its tax plans for the election. These are aimed at people with average incomes. Read more

In a courageous move, the New Zealand Government introduced a bill that would allow 16-year-olds to vote in local elections. Yes, you read that right: 16. Read more