Viv Forbes BScApp, FAusImm, FSIA. Viv Forbes is the Executive Director of the Saltbush Club and Founder of the Carbon Sense Coalition. He has no investments in or contracts with coal or cement companies. But he is a geologist and has studied the rocks of the Bowen Basin and parts
Although not a great fan of popular music and culture, I do occasionally respect certain talented people: Mott the Hoople (of course), Paul French (history’s most underrated songwriter) and Don Walker (the brains behind the Australian band Cold Chisel) immediately spring to mind. Walker once wrote a song “Telephone
A $70,000 app to help Hamilton City Council staff with te reo has one councillor calling for closer scrutiny of “pet projects” as ratepayers face an unprecedented rates rise. He Pou Koorero – an app “designed to help people on their te reo journey” – will be launched this month and
Javier Milei Javier Milei is Argentina’s first-ever libertarian president. He is a graduate in Economics from the University of Belgrano. He completed a postgraduate degree in Economic Theory at the Institute of Economic and Social Development and a postgraduate degree in Economics at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
