BOLD Hey Jamuel, I've just put it up on UAT now: Heading 1 bullet number link herald Wellington has its share of urban legends, most of them false.test One of the more popular ones, and a recurring social media trope, claims that America’s Army Corps of Engineers was prepared to build a proper motorway between Wellington and Auckland after the Second World War. And that the New Zealand government turned them down. Read more

When the Commerce Commission was looking into retail grocery competition, my shop urged the Commission to check on something important. As best we could tell, it would be effectively impossible for a new large-format supermarket chain to open in New Zealand. Read more

Every July, members of the New Zealand Association of Economists – academics, practitioners, and officials – meet to tell each other what they’ve been working on. Work presented tends to be work-in-progress. Read more

Ten years ago, the NZ Initiative brought a Canadian diplomat to Wellington to explain how Canada let ordinary citizens sponsor refugees. Dean Barry told us that when Canadian communities pledged to support one more refugee, Canada admitted one more. Read more

Choice, competition and open markets provide strong consumer protection. The risk that a customer might shift to a competitor, or to another type of product entirely, provides discipline. Read more

Small countries in a big world can choose to be nimble or they can choose to be stupid. When it comes to medicines, New Zealand has chosen the second path. Read more

National promises that, if re-elected, it will make KiwiSaver compulsory. The case for compulsion is weaker than most assume. Read more

From 1 July, the start of the new fiscal year, Health New Zealand will stop paying charges to the Crown for the capital that it uses. The Ministry calls it a technical change, with no effect on patient care, infrastructure, or the money available for services. Read more

Christchurch's SpicyBoys make hot sauce. They’ve branched out into a chilli gin to sell alongside the sauce. Read more

There was no real escape from the dystopia that Terry Gilliam depicted in his excellent film, Brazil. In the film’s world, nothing could be done without the correctly numbered bureaucratic form. Read more