Society
About Society
What are the conditions that will make New Zealand the kind of nation we want to pass on to our children? We regularly research and provide commentary on timely issues that we believe must be addressed to ensure a sustainable future for our families, our communities, and our way of life.
Most Recent Activity
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…
Read More
The little things that can change us
By Alex Penk
Last weekend, my daughter was shrieking in my ear with a mixture of delight and fear as we skimmed across…
Read More
On Common Ground
By Kieran Madden
Illustrations by Anieszka Banks “I could have hit him, I could have hurt him…but something in me said, you know…
Read More
Convenience culture needs to die
By Guest Author
About two years ago, I made the decision to refuse takeaway coffee cups. As part of reducing the unnecessary waste…
Read More
Generational perspective necessary to do policy well
By Kieran Madden
Our view of human nature makes a big difference on which policies we devise and support. “If men were angels,…
Read More
Getting serious about loneliness
By Danielle van Dalen
As Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera sang: “Nobody wants to be lonely.” But loneliness is more than just missing spending…
Read More
TOP goes for a walk
By Alex Penk
Gareth Morgan has a point. I know this may be an unpopular view, but hear me out. Last week Morgan…
Read More
Booming cities, struggling nations
By Kieran Madden
As a football tragic, I’ve been watching many of the World Cup games at ungodly hours these past few weeks….
Read More
The age of misinformation
By Kieran Madden
“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?” lamented the poet T.S. Eliot. “Where is the knowledge we have…
Read More
End of Life Choice Bill contains flaws that are impossible to fix
By Alex Penk
This column was published in Fairfax newspapers on Wednesday 20 June 2018 and on stuff.co.nz Parliament has started hearing submissions…
Read More
When AI goes wrong
By Alex Penk
You may have heard that the robots are coming to take our jobs, thanks to artificial intelligence. But a…
Read More
Curing and caring
By Guest Author
“It has become taboo to mention dying,” says Kathryn Mannix, a leading palliative care specialist from the UK. I know…
Read More
“Stay woke”
By Alex Penk
In a recent video, Barack Obama warned voters about “fake news,” telling us “to be more vigilant with what we…
Read More
New Zealanders in harm’s way
While we may not have poisonous snakes and spiders in New Zealand, the risks of our natural surroundings are becoming…
Read More
Algorithms no substitute for people
By Danielle van Dalen
The cracks are starting to show on the fancy computer algorithms we rely so heavily upon these days. The recent…
Read More
The end of individualism?
By Kieran Madden
In the early nineties, political theorist Francis Fukuyama famously proclaimed the “End of History” was upon us-that western liberal democracy…
Read More
Why civility should be key in politics
By Alex Penk
Check out Alex’s latest column on stuff.co.nz, originally printed in The Press. When Bill English resigned from Parliament, he prompted…
Read More
Changing the way we educate
By Danielle van Dalen
Nelson Mandela is credited with saying: “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” It…
Read More
Submission: The End of Life Choice Bill
By Danielle van Dalen
We are opposed to the End of Life Choice Bill. The dangers of this Bill lie at its very core…
Read More
Short Cuts to the End of Life Choice Bill
By Maxim Institute
In the lead up to the Tuesday, 6 March deadline for making submissions to Parliament about the End of Life Choice…
Read More