I have been asked to describe Canada’s Indigenous child welfare problem. I am told that there are similarities between it and New Zealand’s Maori child welfare issues. I confess that I am largely ignorant of the New Zealand situation, but …
New Zealand Māori Entrepreneurs Pave a Different Path
The Māori people of New Zealand have always been entrepreneurial to some degree. They have had to adapt to the circumstances they were forced into. In the 2013 New Zealand census, there were approximately 600,000 people in New Zealand identifying as Māori, making …
Happy New Zealand’s Suicide Problem
New Zealand is a country that is consistently rated on the U.N. “Happiness Index” as a country that has one of the happiest populations on the planet. And yet, amidst all this happiness there is very deep unhappiness as well …
New Zealand Needs Reform Not Tinkering
Sir Roger Douglas, New Zealand Herald, 24 November 2013 Conventional politicians ignore structural reform because they think they are in power to please people, and pleasing people does not involve making them face the hard questions. They use the latest …
New Zealand Out Of Kyoto II
I’m currently in New Zealand for a few weeks and while nothing much seems to have changed while I’ve been away, one interesting announcement has been made this week which hasn’t got as much attention as I would have expected. …
More Voting System Follies from New Zealand: Proportional Voting a Recipe for Political Instability
In the lead up to last year’s referendum on our voting system, New Zealanders were re-assured that if MMP was successful, the system would be reviewed and improved. This promise persuaded many people who were considering voting for change, to stick with the status quo and vote for MMP.
New Zealand’s Earthquake to Speed Overdue Reforms: No room for new spending requires creative response
The Christchurch earthquake is a disaster, but disasters bring out character. In the public and private sphere there is every sign that New Zealand’s private and political character will see it turn crisis into opportunity.
Municipal Amalgamation … Where’s the problem?: New Zealand (and Canada) still have time to “get it right”
New Zealanders still have time to correct problems with municipal amalgamation that have been identified in large amalgamated Canadian municipalities.
Learning From New Zealand’s Local Government Experience
Reforms of local government rarely, if ever are advanced by local governments themselves. Invariably reform will only occur as it did in New Zealand if higher government driven by determined reformers do it, not the units of local government themselves.