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The past fortnight has seen more local news stories about scary sea-level rise and earthquake building risks. It seems these days the public is being constantly urged by scientists, engineers and others to take costly action to reduce the potential for loss from natural disasters. Read more

The September election is still a few months away but politicians, pollsters and pundits are already speculating on the outcome. Of course, forecasts are difficult, particularly about the future. Read more

The Commerce Commission is nothing if not clever. While it kept everyone busy watching for its rulings on media mergers, it quietly cornered the market on competition policy conferences. Read more

I may risk creating the impression that I enjoy judicial euphemisms. For the past few years, police have been getting stroppy about alcohol licences. This was most obvious when Parliament had to legislate around police obstructionism to allow bars to stay open to screen the Rugby World Cup in 2015. Read more

Nobody yet knows the new pay equity regime’s administrative cost. But we have a pretty good estimate of the costs of the pay equity settlement for the aged care sector: about two billion dollars. Read more

It is a distraction that National could do without this election year. Instead of battling the opposition, they are facing Eminem’s lawyers in the High Court. Read more

New Zealand may never have a better chance of drawing top talent away from America. This week's changes to skilled migrant requirements will help but not as much as they should. Read more

Among transport engineers, the consensus is roundabouts are preferable to crossroads. They reduce crash risks, improve traffic flow and are less expensive to maintain than traffic lights. Read more

You may be in a spot of trouble if you ever really wind up having to kill two birds with the throw of one stone. It is a tricky shot to pull off. Read more