Reports & Media

In Damon Knight’s classic science-fiction short story, helpful aliens provide Earth with unlimited energy and plenty of food. The aliens even have a manual titled, “How to Serve Man.” It all seems too good to be true – until a translator works out the book’s first paragraph and sees it is not your traditional alien butler’s training guide. Read more

Last week brought some hope that this year’s election would have a stronger policy focus. The OECD released its report on the state of the New Zealand, and the moves necessary to improve outcomes in education, productivity and economic growth. Read more

Some things just sound odd when delivered with an accent. Imagine a French exposition on the virtues of Marlborough sauvignon blanc or an Australian singing the praises of New Zealand’s weather. Read more

We may not often hear about Niue, that small Pacific island state. But within the past week, we heard about it twice. Read more

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to reform is neither a lack of money nor a lack of problem awareness. It may simply be a dearth of imagination. Read more

Unless you are closely following New Zealand monetary policy, you might have missed a BusinessDesk story last week. The newspaper revealed an astonishing correspondence between Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler and BNZ’s chief executive Anthony Healy. Read more

Over the past week, TVNZ aired a series of interactive programmes exploring the future of society and work. It is an appealing idea: that in the future, life and work will look dramatically different. Read more

Tenacity is normally a virtue. But when that tenacity is in pursuit of the kind of thing that has gotten you in trouble before, it is just a bit less virtuous. Read more

The accommodation supplement is supposed to make housing more affordable for low income tenants. But whether it can really do that job depends a lot on market conditions. Read more

The past few months have seen a series of tweaks to New Zealand’s immigration settings. While criticised by opposition parties as election year tinkering, the changes have introduced greater flexibility for entry by highly skilled migrants. Read more

You do not need prices in a land of plenty. Prices are a wonderful way of coordinating competing demands on scarce resources. Read more

The 2017 Budget brought a boost to fisheries management intended to enhance New Zealand’s much-touted world-leading Quota Management System. The Minister for Primary Industries announced $30.5 million towards a world-leading Integrated Electronic Monitoring and Reporting System (IEMRS). Read more