The consequences of Britain leaving the EU have exposed the complexity of one country’s economic relations with its partners.
Read MoreFreedom of speech means what we want it to mean
In New Zealand, freedom of speech doesn't have to be, and currently isn't, exclusively concerned with preventing the state from punishing people for speech. Nevertheless, people sometimes claim that freedom of speech has to take on that narrow meaning.
Read MoreThe unnecessary martyrdom of Southern & Molyneux and the need to win the argument
The national debate over free speech is in many ways a sucker punch - "Squirrel!" - that has drawn our view away from the equally important job of winning the argument against the racist and ignorant views being expressed by the alt-right commentators
Read MoreSouthern and Molyneux: hard questions and no easy answers
As a society, must we let obnoxious provocateurs have a public stage? How do we decide when others must bear the burden of their speech?
Read MoreAre Loans Income?
The High Court recently decided that when the Ministry of Social Development calculates a social security beneficiary’s income any mortgage and credit cards loans she received were not income. Quite right, but it took a tortuous path to come to the right conclusion.
Read MoreTOP, we hardly knew ye
Want to understand why Gareth morgan's TOP didn't work? Take a look at the world of professional wrestling. AKA Too woke for talkback town, too talkback for woke town.
Read MoreIs Democracy in Retreat?
A Harvard academic explains why some kinds of democracy are becoming less popular.
Read MoreTo Wed or not to Wed.
Why are we not worried by an unmarried mother leading the country? Once we would have been.
Read MoreBad Statistics
Mike Hosking’s statistical ignorance is so extraordinary that one’s immediate reaction is that a description of it was satire; nobody could be as ill-informed as that – and certainly not a major public commentator.
Read MoreHow’s the Government Doing?
The term of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament is a quarter of the way through. We ought to be getting some impression of the government by now.
Read MoreState of the Union: The 'when a child is born' version
The birth of a child is almost always a joyous event, but it's especially so for a government that desperately needs the time-out to re-set itself and rediscover its discipline and competence
Read MoreIf you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself
What do Barbra Streisand and Sir Bob Jones have in common? It’s all about the Streisand effect.
Read MoreEnabling Us to Assess Government Performance Better
It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly. Goethe
Read MoreGreens in mortal danger
The Green's water bottling decision exposes potentially fatal flaws and complacency at the heart of Green Parliamentary operations
Read MoreMore questions from the Nicky Hager case
Our police force are yet to fully discharged their duty in the Dirty Politics case, which raises further questions about government agencies' respect for journalism
Read MoreWhy the police's apology to Nicky Hager matters
In the wake of the publication of Dirty Politics back in 2014, the New Zealand Police undertook multiple unlawful breaches of Nicky Hager's privacy. They've now apologised for that - but the important thing is to make sure it does not ever happen again.
Read MoreTrade Wars
How Can New Zealand Deal with a Trade War Between Elephants?
Read MoreMeth house clean-up only just begun
I started this blog post wanting to layout the issues left unresolved after a week of reportage on meth houses. I finished it furious at the inept government response, not just since 2016, but since the report was released. Phil Twyford has work to do
Read MoreCommon Good Economics
Another French economist contributes an uncommonly good book.
Read MoreNew welfare taskforce is a slow train... but on which track?
Will the Welfare Expert Advisory Group be simply an excuse for inaction, or an exercise in transformation? Sadly, we will have to wait a while to see
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