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The United Nations is correct to consider New Zealand's housing crisis as a substantial human rights issue. But while the UN is often excellent at seeing problems, it isn't so good at suggesting appropriate solutions. Read more

New Zealand isn’t the only country pondering if, in today’s world, the most dangerous thing of all is that almost everything is made in China. From low-cost manufactured goods and novel coronaviruses, to university budgets and a fair chunk of New Zealand’s gross domestic product, China is responsible for an outsized slice of the Kiwi pie. Read more

Are you a leader of a political party? Do you spend countless hours fundraising while looking after important portfolios? Read more

The government this week extended the COVID-19 (coronavirus) travel ban barring foreign nationals from arriving in New Zealand from mainland China and suggesting self-quarantine for Kiwis returning. The continued ban feels like the right decision for a highly contagious disease with mortality rates that appear to be around twenty times higher than the seasonal flu. Read more

In a prior academic life, I taught public choice – the economic analysis of political decision-making. During the week of lessons on the economics of bureaucracy, the students went through the consequences of the bureaus holding an information advantage over their ministerial masters. Read more

It is about time Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway investigates one of the more egregious employment rorts out there. An employer – and not an obscure one – pays far less than the minimum wage. Read more

Counting by the number of times the phrases “gig economy” and “future of work” are mentioned by the news media, you could be forgiven for thinking full-time employment was a thing of the past. Yet last year the Productivity Commission reported the so-called gig economy was both small and showed no signs of rapid growth, either in New Zealand or in the 30 other countries for which data was available. Read more