Nowhere in New Zealand is as landlocked as the southern Manitoba farm where I grew up. Reaching the ocean, by road, required at least 24 hours of non-stop driving. Read more
As 2022 draws to a close, it is clear the Government's May 2022 'Immigration reset' is not working. Skills shortages and immigration settings remain at the top of chief executives' list of concerns in the Herald's recent Mood of the Boardroom survey. Read more
In a classic Simpsons episode, the gang went out looking for the Loch Ness Monster. Professor Frink turned on his scanning scope. Read more
Last week, I wrote about why New Zealand’s cities are shrinking – and why that is a cause of concern. Cities have always been engines of prosperity. Read more
The debate over free speech at universities continues to rage across the English-speaking world, including in this country. But what does the data show? Read more
“Harder years, tough years are coming,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier told his country on Friday. At least with this warning, Germany’s Federal President was being honest. Read more
If you want to know the effects of small changes to tax rates or tax thresholds on government revenue, Treasury provides a handy calculator. But the calculator breaks if you ask it to tell you the effects of inflation on tax revenues since April 2021, when the new 39% tax rate came in. Read more
One of the megatrends of the past decades has been urbanisation. Globally, city dwellers have surpassed rural dwellers since 2007. Read more
One of the few things more irritating than someone saying, “I told you so”, is someone sticking their fingers in their ears when you’re trying to tell them something important. In July of this year, the New Zealand Initiative published a Policy Note titled, A Way Ahead for Literacy and Numeracy. Read more
Another week, another British Prime Minister. Just 44 days into the job, Liz Truss was forced into a humiliating resignation. Read more
No one can doubt the importance of military credibility in deterring hostile aggressors. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, even a pacifist post-World War II Germany and the previously neutral Nordic countries have learned that lesson. Read more
This week marks five years since Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s 40th prime minister. In modern British political terms, such a period might now be referred to as an era. Read more
If someone told you that America’s tax system is light-years ahead of either Sweden or New Zealand’s in reducing inequality, you’d be right to think they’re either misguided or lying to you. So how the heck did Oxfam manage to create a ranking of tax system fairness that put the US 10th best in the world, the UK 24th, Sweden 104th, and New Zealand 136th? Read more
I’ve always thought of Wellington as being a bit like Tolkien’s Hobbiton. It’s peaceful, comfortable, and largely ignored by the dark forces of the world. Read more
This week’s third-quarter inflation figure from Statistics NZ underlines what a mess the Minister of Finance and the Reserve Bank have made of monetary policy. Inflation may have peaked at 7.3%. Read more