Twelve years ago, an earthquake flattened much of Christchurch’s downtown. Civil defence, as well as those nearby and able to help, responded immediately to rescue those trapped. Read more
Getting things done in New Zealand can be a challenge. Even a simple deck extension can prove a hurdle. Read more
You may have heard the term ‘microaggression’. It means a very small act of aggression. Read more
It has been a terrible couple of weeks. Assessing and costing cyclone damage from Northland to Wairarapa, but especially in Hawke’s Bay, will take months. Read more
In this edition of Taxpayer Talk, the focus is on local government with guests Dr Oliver Hartwich and Callum Purves. A review into the future of local government has been commissioned but it fails to address the main issues affecting the sector, in particular the way it’s funded and what its main functions should be. Read more
Environment Minister David Parker’s Resource Management law reform proposals have been a long time in the making. The trio of Bills Parker proposes to replace the much-maligned Resource Management Act date back to the work of a government task force established in 2019. Read more
Resilient infrastructure is crucial for protecting people during disasters and ensuring that communities can bounce back quickly in the aftermath of a crisis. Two powerful examples of this can be seen in New Zealand's response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and, more recently, Cyclone Gabrielle. Read more
Chris Bishop asked an excellent question during last week’s Select Committee hearings into the government’s proposed Natural and Built Environment Act. “Where does local democracy stop and the legitimate …national interest kick in?” The question cuts to the heart of one of the debates around resource management reform. Read more
A new broom sweeps clean. For Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s new Prime Minister, this saying could not be more apt. Read more
The December 2022 inflation figures are out, and the news is not particularly good. While most bank economists expected annual inflation to fall in Q4, it remained at 7.2%, so inflation has plateaued rather than decreased. Read more
The UK Financial Times opined in late December that the biggest casualty of 2022 was the reputation of big central banks. Central banks failed to forecast the rise in inflation caused by easy money. Read more
Considering Chris Hipkins’ reputation as a policy wonk, this week’s ‘bonfire of policies’ is quite remarkable. Commentators have interpreted the Prime Minister’s clean-up as a dumping of unpopular policies ahead of the election. Read more
Peaches come from a can. They were put there by a man. Read more
It’s no secret that New Zealand’s compulsory education system is in disarray. Even worse, it’s hard to know where to begin to enact reform. Read more
A lift in the minimum wage is set to have a domino effect. The Government has announced the minimum wage will rise by $1.50 to $22.70 from April. Read more