Kieran Madden
About Kieran Madden
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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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“Random” answers for poverty prove Nobel-worthy
By Kieran Madden
Far too often, debates on topics that really matter are mired in oversimplification at best, and stagnate in sloganeering at…
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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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Avoiding the election budget “black holes”
By Kieran Madden
In April this year, astrophysicists did the seemingly impossible and took a photo of a black hole. The black hole…
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The Art of Disagreeing Agreeably
By Kieran Madden
Illustrations by Anieszka Banks When engaging with someone you disagree with, own the fact that it could get awkward. New Zealanders…
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Don’t turn away
By Kieran Madden
“Our noses were almost touching…we were breathing the same air.” These are the words of Marcia Khoza, whose mother was…
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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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Raising resilient children through healthy relationships
By Kieran Madden
When we hear of the overwhelming, and often heart-breaking challenges that some families face it can be easy to feel…
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This is our home
By Kieran Madden
Vibrant flowers gild the gates of the Christchurch mosques, each bouquet laid with trembling hands, representing a beautiful solidarity amidst…
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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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Vocational surgery required
By Kieran Madden
Our vocational educational system is on life support— haemorrhaging badly in desperate need of surgery. Four of New Zealand’s sixteen…
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Killing the cult of consumerism
By Kieran Madden
“Our Gross National Product…measures everything, except that which makes life worthwhile.” Bobby Kennedy’s famous 1968 speech decried how measures like…
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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…
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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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Mana in Mahi isn’t your average work-for-the-dole scheme
By Kieran Madden
Translated to “strength in work,” Labour’s Mana in Māhī scheme shows real potential to make a difference in the lives…
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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,…
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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….
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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…
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Excessive tertiary education sends the wrong signals
By Kieran Madden
The higher education system is a colossal waste of time and money—far more about signaling to future employers than gaining…
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