From ‘that’ NCEA maths exam that left students in tears, the confusion around exams during last month’s earthquake, to the seclusion of special needs students, it seems the education sector rarely gets a break. And it looks like that will not change anytime soon with the latest news in education. Read more
There are growing concerns tonight about the economic implications of Italy's referendum result for the European Union. The win of the "no" vote is another example of a populist victory sweeping western politics. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Mitch Harris on RadioLive about whether Europe could fall apart before Brexit.
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Following the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, US public opinion guru Frank Luntz provided some good advice on Twitter: “If you praise Fidel Castro, don’t expect anyone to take your criticism of Donald Trump seriously.” If only Frank Luntz had more Twitter followers. Though proverbs remind us not to speak ill of the dead, there is no need to wax lyrical about them either. Read more
Anyone who has tried to teach their parents how to use a new technology must have empathised with Uber New Zealand general manager Richard Menzies last week. Appearing before Parliament’s Transport Committee, Menzies was trying to make the case that outdated taxi regulations need not apply to Uber. Read more
Reincarnation is a tricky concept, not least because it requires we accept the idea that those experiencing terrible ordeals must have committed even more horrid deeds to deserve their fate. But, if this logic is accepted, then the people working in local government must have done some truly awful, terrible, horrendous things in a previous life. Read more
While in Victoria, British Columbia, our Research Fellow, Dr Randall Bess, visited Archipelago Marine Research, a world leader in at-sea and dockside observer programmes and electronic monitoring (EM) technology for commercial fisheries. Dr Bess met with Howard McElderry, Vice President, who provided this message for New Zealanders: Read more
It’s pretty good being a working woman in New Zealand, which has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the OECD. Gender disparities in many occupations have been closing. Read more
Wellington (1 December 2016): The New Zealand Initiative is delighted that Chris Bishop’s bill compensating live organ donors passed its third reading yesterday. Dr Eric Crampton, Head of Research with the Initiative, said “This bill will help overcome substantial financial barriers that prevent a lot of people from donating organs. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Mark Sainsbury about New Zealand's housing crisis and the increasing debt burden for first home buyers. This follows the announcement from the Reserve bank saying the average Kiwis are struggling with record mortgage debt - with the average amount being borrowed jumping up 43% in the last two years to $390,000. Read more
Julian Morris is Vice President of Research at Reason Foundation, a US-based think tank. An expert on the regulation of risk, Mr Morris is the author of over 50 scholarly articles and several books, including, most recently “The Vapour Revolution: How Bottom Up Innovation is Saving Lives.” He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Senior Fellow at the International Center for Law and Economics. Read more
Like everyone else in Wellington, our family woke early that Monday morning to earthquakes. We had been through it before, in Christchurch, and I did not like it. Read more
Some opportunities you know you’d really regret passing over. And so I found myself on Saturday in a hot tub full of milk with Canterbury law lecturer David Round, Christchurch activist artist Sam Mahon, and chef-in-training Camila Nieuwlands. Read more
Local government is ready to sit down and talk with central government about improving the sector’s performance, provided policymakers in the Beehive come to the table as a partner, not as a parent. That was the theme that emerged from the launch of our latest report, The Local Manifesto: Restoring local government accountability, which took place in Wellington on Monday. Read more
I almost did not read The Herald’s exclusive ‘classroom shake-up’ coverage last week. Quake stories were getting me down. Read more