Real Good Oil
In depth political articles for VIP members
These Are the New Magicians
All universities are performing a magic trick. The professors to watch out for are those who insist they know how the trick is done – and have a better one.
Understanding Why We Fear AI
It’s not the technology that bothers us. It’s what the technology reveals about who we are.
New Zealand Children’s Books I’d Like to See
I concede Jepsen’s point that New Zealand children should be reading something that reflects their culture and is relevant to their daily lives. So, I have come up with some scenarios for children’s books that might be recognisable for Kiwi kids in 2025.
Of Manners, Explorers and the Thirst for Knowledge
The public lecture as mass entertainment.
Through the Gun or Education?
Reformers will tell you that education is the answer. Revolutionaries know they’re lying.
This Reform of Road Funding Is Transformational
It makes sense for the form of road funding to move from a dual system. Looking back, it strikes me as somewhat odd that New Zealand has generated revenue from the roads in different ways up until now.
The Pressure Points
When Israel tried to force Hamas’ hand by instituting the blockade, the terrorists would have been delighted. Nothing was more calculated to unhinge the sentimental nations of the West than images of emaciated children. These would be the martyrs that counted.
Vic Labor’s Secret Pipe Dreams
There is a risk that at least some of these loony policies will survive the journey from conference debate to eventual legislation.
Why They Want (And Will Get) CBDCs
If the world is on track to reach 10 billion by 2080, and degeneracy is the default mode of human existence, what’s your alternative for organising all those people?
The Death of NZ Culture
When the majority Pākehā culture is spurned and a focus placed on ‘indigenous’ Māori culture and recently imported minorities, the assimilation of immigrants to a national identity becomes impossible.
Why Do We Hate Voting So Much?
Voting rights took centuries of struggle to win, so why don’t more people value it?
We Are on a Collision Course
Can New Zealanders change their direction of travel? Do they want to?
What Is in a Name?
It didn’t have to be this way, but anti-New Zealand activists are playing an all-or-nothing game and it’s one we need to win if New Zealand is to survive.