Much of the commentary on the budget was shallow. What is really going on is that the changes are small but they reflect a particular political perspective. The financial threat was hardly discussed
Read MoreOut of the biscuit tin, into the House
It's a quirky part of our lawmaking processes that important legislative developments may depend upon the right token getting pulled out of a biscuit tin. Today it was the turn of Euthanasia/Aid in Dying and Medicinal Marijuana to come out.
Read MoreHow Will Housing Prices Fall?
Following up my ‘AUT Policy Observatory’ report on ‘Housing Prices Relative to Consumer Prices: An Analysis’.
Read MoreBrownlee's resolution revolution: Is it Israel or bust?
Despite Bill English's assertion that Gerry Brownlee has found the "right language" to discuss Israeli settlements and New Zealand's position on a controversial UN resolution, the foreign minister seems to still be following his own path
Read More"Wellington, this is Auckland calling. Let us out of this maze"
Auckland is like a rat in a maze of the National government's making. But Phil Goff is determined to find his own way out... and he just might be about to find a door
Read MoreIs National Stealing Labour’s Social Policy Clothing?
Or has Labour lost its clothes or forgotten how to put them on.
Read MoreWhy 'the housing crisis' only cuts so deep
Housing may be top of the pops as an election issue for some, but it's not as many as you might think... and it won't be as easy to fix as you might think
Read MoreTaylor strikes again (but still has no right to take his place in the human race)
The Court of Appeal has upheld Arthur Taylor's challenge to the ban on prisoner voting under the NZ Bill of Rights Act ... except that he personally shouldn't have been able to bring the case in the first place, and he still won't be able to vote. But still - exciting!
Read MoreArthur Taylor wins again ...
... or, rather, the fellow prisoners who joined his application to have the legislative ban on prisoners voting declared inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act win again.
Read MoreIs it enough? Budget 2017 dissected
It's a Key-less budget giving National a new selling point... an Election Year Budget... and a Catch-Up Budget. And it's a budget that starts the thaw after the frozen years. But is it enough for New Zealand and New Zealanders?
Read MoreWork for it: On Rohan Lord & the L'Oreal candidates
Rohan Lord's decision to bail on Labour is perhaps representative of the rise of a political class who aren't prepared to import kumara to earn a seat, but rather take the L'Oreal approach to politics
Read MoreAusterians vs Fiscal Conservatives
Managing the government’s fiscal deficit need not mean cutting social expenditure.
Read MoreWhy the TPP11 will have to go back before Parliament
Bill English seems to think that New Zealand could become a part of a new, non-US Trans Pacific Partnership trade bloc without Parliament having to look at the issue. I'm pretty sure he is wrong about that.
Read MoreExplaining NZ's record high prison population
The prison population has hit 10,000 - an all-time high. 56% of these inmates are Maori - another all time high. What's going on?
Read MoreThe Price of Labour and the Value of Work
Do residential care workers deserve the big pay increase they are getting?
Read MoreBetter a Banker in Rolls Royce than a Fascist in a Tank
The new President of France, Emmanuel Macron, wants French people to "embrace the future". Time will tell if he can make that possible, but his is a better message than the Trumps of this world who want to embrace the past
Read MoreIt's a Sicilian message
Alfred Ngaro appears to think the Government can stop its critics taking part in government programmes. That's not just wrong from a political morality standpoint, it's flat out illegal.
Read MoreTrump's firing of James Comey - what on earth is going on?
Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey either means that he's covering up his campaign's criminal links with Russian agents, or he's punishing a top law enforcement official for not doing exactly what he wants. Neither explanation bodes well for the USA.
Read MoreRepealing blasphemous libel - what took us so long?
The Irish might be going to prosecute Stephen Fry for blasphemy? Quick - let's amend our laws so that we don't ever end up doing something so silly!
Read MoreThe Productivity Commission tries to think about the Education and Training Sector
The report of the Productivity Commission on the Tertiary Education Sector “New Models of Tertiary Education” is complacent.
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