Last month I noted that the public policy debate was all about how we deal with covid-19. That’s changing now, and will change more over the next couple of months as the buffering impact of the wage subsidy disappears and we see starkly the economic hole out of which we are now going to have to climb. It is a deep hole for sure but not impossible.
Read MoreNo Public Policy is Costless

It may be some time before we can truly count the cost of the Covid-19 decisions. But whatever approach we take and whatever new normal we build, there will be a cost
Read MoreThe biggest challenge for a generation ahead – covid-19. Defeat and Recovery
Last month I wrote my blog on covid-19 pointing out the in our pre Alert Level 4 days that a subject no one had heard here months ago was now dominating the media. An amazing feature of this crisis is how quickly it has swept every other issue aside worldwide. It is now the only focus.
Read MoreCoronavirus

Coronavirus Covid-19 might be a very tiny creature but it is making its influence felt in 2020 no doubt about that.
Read MoreIran and the USA
Amidst a brainless array of summer stories came the danger of a US-Iran war. So why does the US hate Iran so much, why does it side with the Saudis and what’s at stake?
Read MoreDemocracy and Referendum

It’s a referendum. Whether or not the End of Life Choice Bill will come into effect or not will be finally decided by the general public in a referendum to be held along with the general election next year. I thoroughly approve of that process, especially as voters will be in no doubt as to what they are approving. There will also be a vote on whether or not to legalise cannabis for recreational purposes. Again a draft Bill will be available.
Read MoreThe Limits of Power: What Johnson, Trump, Ardern and Fonterra have in common
Over-reach is a common crime in politics and business. But a day of reckoning always comes, as leaders in this country and some of the world’s biggest powers are discovering to their cost
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