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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jets into Rarotonga today to attend the Post-Forum Dialogue of the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum. The leaders of the 15 countries attending the forum – including Prime Minister John Key and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard – have been discussing a number of environmental, security and economic issues, with a particular focus on renewable energy, development assistance, and climate change. Read more

Regulation is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Some regulation is necessary as it can either set out the rules of the game in society or attempt to influence people to make better choices. Read more

Population growth is always an issue of intense debate, bouncing between a nation’s acceptance (and need) for migrants and an anti-foreigner sentiment. New Zealand and Australia are both typical and similar in this regard – both have relatively low populations for their size. Read more

New Zealand’s leaky building saga has shaken public confidence in both the building industry and the regulatory competence of government. The growth of the Certified Builders Association of New Zealand (CBANZ) is an example of a market response to the problem. Read more

The National Party has announced it will reduce the number of long-term beneficiaries by 30 per cent in five years. Ambitious stuff, but notably absent from the government’s Better Public Services programme is a commitment to ignore industry requests for state lifelines that may arise. Read more

As the Olympics begin to wind up, and countries reflect on their performance, the inevitable calls for reviewing funding arrangements are beginning to pour in. So far, these calls in New Zealand have been muted, mainly because we have done well – with the added bonus of winning more gold medals than Australia for much of the games. Read more

Prime minister John Key observed that the 2011 election was about the economy. Business people are looking to the incoming government to address critical weaknesses in our economy and implement policies to boost economic growth. Read more

The select committee considering the bill to set up the referendum on the electoral system is due to report back to parliament next month. It is important that parliament provides voters with the best possible process for deciding on this important issue. Read more

Next month the 2025 Taskforce will be delivering its second report to the government. It is the most important taskforce reporting this year. Read more

Here’s a quick quiz. First question: Name a wealthy country where either party to an employment contract is free to terminate it at any time, provided they give notice. Read more