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A familiar lament has resurfaced in recent weeks: that Robert Muldoon’s decision to cancel Norm Kirk’s 1975 compulsory superannuation scheme cost New Zealand a trillion-dollar nest egg. The Government’s weekend signal of higher KiwiSaver contributions has given that argument new life, encouraging some to reach again for the comparison. Read more

When serious allegations threaten an institution’s reputation or its leader’s credibility, the temptation to bury them may be overwhelming. In New Zealand’s public institutions, a structural flaw makes this suppression not just tempting but rational. Read more

Something peculiar is happening in New Zealand politics. Labour, routed just two years ago with their worst result since proportional representation began in 1996, has surged to 38 per cent in the latest political poll. Read more

The Supreme Court’s Uber judgment (Rasier Operations BV v E Tū Inc [2025] NZSC 162) has delivered clarity of a sort. The Court dismissed Uber’s appeal, upholding the finding that drivers are employees when logged into the Uber app. Read more

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber did not merely facilitate connections between four drivers and their various passengers – as Uber has maintained. And that the four drivers were not contractors for Uber either. Read more

Announcements earlier this month make the Emissions Trading Scheme a bit less credible over the longer term. The problem can be fixed – and relatively easily. Read more

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this week opened the door to asset recycling. He suggested that the government could sell state-owned enterprises and commercial assets it no longer has any reason to own, to fund new infrastructure. Read more

The Government deserves credit for wanting to make it easier for new supermarkets and other large projects to get off the ground. The Government’s broad approach is sound. Read more

Now that we’re getting towards the end of the year, and I’m getting towards the end of my time as a contributor to this newsletter, I’ve been thinking about the news story that most stood out for me this year and that best encapsulates my experience of this country. The obvious answer is the story of Ned the snail. Read more