Law & Government
About Law & Government
Our representatives in Parliament and their advisors have the power to affect thousands, even millions, of lives. From the constitutional framework that empowers and limits government, to issues of law and policy that touch on deeper issues like the value and inviolability of human life, we continue an active engagement and interest in a range of policy and legal issues.
Most Recent Activity
Political “race to the middle” bereft of vision
By Alex Penk
Who is the real “party of infrastructure”? Is it Labour, who just announced that they’ll spend billions on roads and…
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Foreign donations small fry compared to Govt spending
By Alex Penk
“Pecunia non olet,” or, for non-latin speakers: money doesn’t stink. It’s been a truism ever since the Roman Emperor Vespasian…
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Beware the cult of youth
By Danielle van Dalen
To get a vision of what society values, take a look at a magazine stand. Looking across the cover images…
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Policy for the people, with the people
By Kieran Madden
While reading about a promising new policy initiative by a bright-eyed non-profit organisation, I did a double-take when I read…
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Government should not allow further overreach from Court
By Alex Penk
The Opposition just rolled out the usual tough-on-crime rhetoric disconnected from evidenced-based solutions, announcing that it’s “time to smash the…
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Naked politics blocks decent policy-making
By Alex Penk
There’s been a lot of cynicism about the Provincial Growth Fund, and last week Minister Shane Jones went a long…
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Choices, consequences, and euthanasia
By Alex Penk
“You see, the reality is that for every choice, there is a consequence.” As the End of Life Choice Bill…
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The failure of audacious goals
By Kieran Madden
“Goals are for losers.” I wouldn’t put it quite as provocatively as cartoonist Scott Adams did in his book How…
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Referendums are not the pinnacle of democracy
By Alex Penk
If the most recent polls are right, the cannabis referendum won’t pass. Some will be pleased with this, others frustrated,…
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Budget reveals wellbeing will cost more than Rules allow
By Julian Wood
The figures announced in last week’s Wellbeing Budget stretches the Government’s self-imposed Budget Responsibility Rules (keeping the level of net…
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Government needs to give answers on “wellbeing”
By Alex Penk
This week the Government will unveil the first-ever Wellbeing Budget, somewhat breathlessly described by the New York Times as “New…
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The “yeah, nah” government
By Kieran Madden
That gutting feeling of unfulfilled expectations is hard to shake, and the bigger the promise, the bigger the disappointment. The…
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Now is the time to take our changing future seriously
By Kieran Madden
The Government is dead-set on improving “wellbeing” as the mark of their leadership, and “long-term intergenerational wellbeing” in particular. This…
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Financial responsibility goes beyond mere “Rules”
By Alex Penk
Sometimes the most important ideas are the ones that aren’t being discussed. This came to mind with the release of…
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The process of voting on our voting process
By Danielle van Dalen
Last week, Justice Minister Andrew Little flagged the possibility of having an MMP referendum at the 2020 election to reconsider…
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The Politics of Diving
By Kieran Madden
Soccer goalkeepers sure look spectacular with their acrobatic dives during penalties, but studies show that simply standing in the middle…
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Shaking off stardust politics
By Kieran Madden
Famously elusive about her political leanings, pop sensation Taylor Swift recently went beyond her usual neutral get-out-and-vote message to endorse…
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Better the ballot box we know
By Danielle van Dalen
When online banking was first introduced, my Dad was sceptical. He worried there would be problems with security, access, and…
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Don’t leave law to the lawyers
By Alex Penk
One day, a man called John Entick was at home when in walked Nathan Carrington and three other government agents….
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The $64,000 question
By Julian Wood
As my colleague discussed in a recent column, we have to be careful that our desire to punish offenders and…
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