What if the real problem with local government is not that there are too many of them, but rather too few? Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta in April announced an independent review of local government. Read more

New Zealand was not caught entirely flat-footed last January when Covid first began making itself known. But we were several steps behind Taiwan, whose Central Epidemic Command Centre was alert to the risk very early. Read more

Governments have a hard time planning for longer term risks. Unless a specific risk, like climate change, draws voters’ attention, it is more likely to be ignored. Read more

If you’d thought that sorting Wellington’s transport issues was at the heart of the latest efforts to solve Wellington’s transport issues, well, you don’t know Wellington. For the past five years, Let’s Get Wellington Moving has been consulting with over ten thousand people and 75 stakeholder groups. Read more

New Zealand is not among the world’s most geologically stable places. The Christchurch earthquake was just over a decade ago. Read more

Bubbles are beautiful but fragile things. Not letting the new one break matters. Read more

Three roads bounded the farm where I grew up in Southern Manitoba. To the East was the highway. Read more

Local government is fundamentally broken because of the way councils are financed, how the costs and benefits of urban growth are divvied up, and the incentives thus created. Councils bear the costs of growth. Read more

One year ago, in a desperate rush, the government launched the wage subsidy scheme. It had to be done in a hurry; every other option was worse. Read more

The recipe for creating conflict over scarce and congestible resources is really rather simple. Start with beautiful natural spaces that attract visitors. Read more