Last week Sean Plunket had on his show a couple of self-styled “investment advisors”. Taking a look at their website, they appear to be life insurance salesmen who also peddle KiwiSaver (hardly Warren Buffett). Another red flag casting doubt upon their usefulness was some of the things they said to
Michael Ryan Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not immune to this issue. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr has said a
Bryce Edwards Political Analyst in Residence, director of the Democracy Project, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington democracyproject.nz Many criticisms are being made of the government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has
Rebekah Barnett Rebekah Barnett is a Brownstone Institute fellow, independent journalist and advocate for Australians injured by the Covid vaccines. She holds a BA in Communications from the University of Western Australia, and writes for her Substack, Dystopian Down Under. brownstone.org As part of its pandemic response, the Australian
Saul Zimet fee.org Saul Zimet is a Hazlitt Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and a graduate student in economics at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. In Dallas, Texas, an assortment of particularly risk-tolerant graduate students sat around a
Robert Hamlin Senior lecturer in marketing, University of Otago A multi-billion dollar stadium precinct has been proposed for Auckland, one of three proposals in front of Auckland Council for a new stadium in the city. The council is also considering revamping Eden Park. But is a new stadium really value
A curious thing emerged during the 1980s that has continued through to the present day. In popular music, Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You”, started the trend of yodelling. You can hear them all doing it if you listen closely. In acting, Michael J Fox in Back
Michael Cook Michael Cook is the editor in chief of Mercator. He lives in Sydney, Australia. mercatornet.com The Titanic sank after it collided with an unseen iceberg. Western societies with low birthrates are steaming straight towards an iceberg in broad daylight. But they refuse to change course. The problem
Failed Labour nonentity Grant Robertson made a comment in his valedictory speech to parliament saying the tax system is very unfair. Let us take a look at that contention and see if there is anything in it. One of its implications is the usual socialist chestnut that all your money
Bryce Edwards I am Political Analyst in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington, where I run the Democracy Project, and am a full-time researcher in the School of Government democracyproject.substack.com Pay cuts, wage restraint, and redundancies are currently being forced on everyone in the government sector. Except in
The Soviet-born Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin once reminisced about the her childhood. Her father would sometimes bring home a special gift: an orange. She would, she said, save the orange for as long as possible, eating one precious segment a day. It’s a stark reminder to Western children today,
Chris Lynch chrislynchmedia.com If more funding to reinstate Christ Church Cathedral is not secured by August, then the project will be indefinitely mothballed, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited announced today. This is despite the fact that rate payers were forced to contribute $10 million to the project in 2017,
The public sector has been hit with another blow, as the Ministry of Health and Ministry for Social Development are expected to cut hundreds of jobs. Up next week are the Department of Internal Affairs, followed by the Department of Conservation. What isn’t clear is what will happen to
I see a great many memes bewailing that schools don’t teach kids things like taxes, household budgeting and other such ‘adulting’ tasks. Once upon a time, of course, we learned such things at our parents’ knees. When my mother went back to work after her youngest (me) started school,
Grant Duncan Visiting scholar in politics, City, University of London If you live in New Zealand and you’re feeling poorer, you’re not imagining it. Stats NZ has revealed the economy was in recession over the second half of last year. GDP fell in the September and December quarters
Bryce Edwards Political Analyst in Residence, Director of the Democracy Project, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington democracyproject.substack.com “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon
