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
Dodging the lolly-scramble for power
By Alex Penk
As a kid, there was one word that always got your heart racing and your legs pumping at a community…
Read More
The battle lines for our votes
By Kieran Madden
It’s the economy, stupid. This phrase, coined by one of Bill Clinton’s wily campaign strategists, has done a crude but…
Read More
The dangerous appeal of binding referendums
By Alex Penk
“Actually, when you drill into it, there are some big reasons to think twice before embracing binding referendums.” Click here…
Read More
MIC 08 | The experts against euthanasia
With David Seymour’s End of Life Choices Bill up for a first reading in Parliament, legal assisted suicide is firmly on…
Read More
The illusion of certainty in the End of Life Choices Bill
By Danielle van Dalen
David Seymour is convinced his End of Life Choices Bill, drawn from the Private Member’s Ballot last Thursday, would be…
Read More
Welfare to work?
By Kieran Madden
Just where do people go when they move off a benefit? It’s a serious question that demands an answer. Why?…
Read More
The regional role of iwi
By Julian Wood
Bill English has made a splash in the last few days, both for his sheep shearing skills and his first-time…
Read More
The public square vs the voting booth
By Alex Penk
Why was Donald Trump’s election so surprising? One obvious reason is that he was completely unfit to be president. Less…
Read More
Lessons from America
By Kieran Madden
While most of us have experienced holding our nose as we vote, our American friends are, as usual, taking it…
Read More
What is the number?
By Alex Penk
Anyone advocating for euthanasia or assisted suicide should have to answer this question: How many wrongful deaths is Parliament prepared…
Read More
Life consistent with our identity
By Jeremy Vargo
I love a good public disagreement; lately there seems to be a perishing lack of the good kind. To me…
Read More
No Bregrets
By Kieran Madden
As the market dived and the pound sterling plummeted to a thirty-year lows following Brexit, deep despair and outrage reigned….
Read More
Protesting democracy
It’s been an odd week. With Britain’s 52% vote to leave the EU shocking the pollsters, news websites and social…
Read More
Unrealistic safeguards
“Safeguards.” It’s an official-sounding and soothing term often used by those in favour of euthanasia, to ease concerns about the…
Read More
Promises promises
By Jeremy Vargo
The joint announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Labour and the Greens last week took many by surprise….
Read More
Budget won’t fix lack of vision
By Julian Wood
Last Thursday when I told my son I was going to be home late because it was Budget Day, and…
Read More
Values and voting
By Alex Penk
No-one likes a hypocrite. So when we hear that evangelical Christians in America are voting for Donald Trump , in…
Read More
Living Wage disputes
By Kieran Madden
Last week, the Government announced that the minimum wage will soon rise by 50 cents to $15.25/hour, higher than the…
Read More
Submission: Health Select Committee Inquiry into the ending of one’s life in New Zealand
By Jane Silloway Smith
Since late 2013, Maxim Institute has undertaken a stream of research into the legal and policy arguments regarding euthanasia and…
Read More
The reason more important than the change
By Alex Penk
At the height of the Boer War, New Zealanders celebrated the heroism and abilities of our troopers. There was an…
Read More