When we went where Britain went – our long (and heroic) battle to retain...
This was first published on 27/06/2016 after the British voted in their referendum to leave the EU and is republished to mark the agreement...
MIQ: help is on its way
The Government is on the brink of bringing forward some elements of the “Reconnecting New Zealand” plan it announced in August. Covid Response Minister Chris...
Vaccine mandates by another name
The Government may not be prepared to go as far as "no jab, no job" mandatory vaccinations, but it is preparing to introduce the...
Can the complicated rooster crow again?
There is a revealing anecdote in Simon Bridges’ book, “National Identity”, about his time at the University of Auckland Law School. The school has been...
No MIQ space for expected Covid surge
The Government yesterday stopped even pretending that it could stamp Covid out. The Prime Minister had almost conceded as much on Monday when she said...
Covid strategy flakes as reality bites
The Government's Covid management strategy yesterday began its re-entry into reality, and bits seemed to flake off in the process. The Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency,...
How white middle-class bureaucrats are holding up Maori vaccinations
The Covid story is rapidly becoming a Maori story as Maori dominate new cases, and vaccination rates among Maori lag well behind the overall...
Ardern supporters turn on her
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was under fire from her own supporters last night after what they argued was a backdown over Covid restrictions in...
Moving beyond elimination
It is time to move on beyond the elimination strategy. That was a consensus view yesterday among both Opposition politicians and some of the country’s...
The tough questions are starting
The whole focus of the Covid fight is now going to swing to reaching the 90 per cent vaccination target. Only then will borders be...
Four weeks ago Collins fired him; now he’s leading National’s big Covid response plan
National yesterday capitalised on the Tuesday night failure of 25,008 people to get Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) vouchers to get back to New...
Shaw and the fragile international politics of climate change
Climate Change Minister James Shaw is heading off to the COP26 conference in Glasgow, knowing that New Zealand has lost a considerable chunk of...
Opening up the border (slowly)
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the self-isolation trial announced yesterday for business people returning from overseas will likely become universal for all travellers in...
Key’s Covid comments challenge both Ardern and Collins
Former Prime Minister Sir John Key yesterday filled the vacuum which has been National’s indifferent response to the Covid crisis. Key's much-read "op-ed” on both...
The PM picks a political number
The Government’s release yesterday of modelling to show likely Covid deaths at various vaccination rates may owe more to politics than pure mathematics. The release...
