Making the Provincial Growth Fund a risk worth taking

By Julian Wood

The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) represents a once in a generation opportunity to support a sustainable future for New Zealand’s…

Make the change, don’t keep the change

By Jeremy Vargo

Quick question. If a checkout operator gives you too much money back in change, do you tell them and give…

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…

Two-and-a-half cheers for child poverty bill

By Alex Penk

I was born at the tail-end of Gen X, so I grew up with a pop culture saturated by “fear…

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…

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…

Losing All Blacks nothing to fear

By Julian Wood

In a surprise move, a group of the top 1 percent of male New Zealand income earners are appealing for…

Mana in Mahi isn’t your average work-for-the-dole scheme

By Kieran Madden

Translated to “strength in work,” Labour’s Mana in Mahi scheme shows real potential to make a difference in the lives…

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,…

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…

Housing Panel – Live Q+A

THREE PERSPECTIVES ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD A decent, affordable place to live is a basic need for every person,…

Is there demand for a tourist tax?

By Danielle van Dalen

I’m no economist, but even I know that basic economic theory says that as the price for a product increases,…

Beware the consequences of the waka-jumping bill

By Danielle van Dalen

Like many, my first introduction to politics was through a class election. My group decided our key campaign promise was…

Time to take a risk for the regions – Newsroom column

By Alex Penk

To lay out an explanation for the recommendations in our Taking the Right Risks policy paper on regional development, Alex Penk…

Regional Development Policy Paper: Taking the Right Risks

By Julian Wood

Our previous work on regional development laid out the evidence that large parts of New Zealand are facing a 30 year wave…

Planning to take the right risks for our regions

By Julian Wood

New Zealand’s Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has a problem. He has three billion dollars and three years to change…

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…

Promises and plans to change poverty in New Zealand

By Kieran Madden

A few weeks ago, my colleague wrote about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s “courageous move” to introduce the Child Poverty Reduction…

“No.8 wire” ethic is not enough

By Julian Wood

While New Zealanders are proud of the “number 8 wire” ethos that represents our ingenuity and resourcefulness, our actual productivity…

Labour’s courageous move on poverty

By Jeremy Vargo

Labour’s announcement last week of the Child Poverty Reduction Bill was almost instantly hailed by many as a huge step…