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In one sense at least, Finance Minister Bill English has done everyone a favour with the way the Genesis share float has been structured. So […]

Anyone who may have feeling twinges of remorse that it might have been a good idea for Shane Jones to have won the Labour Party […]

If it does nothing else, this election will be a test of whether marketing really can turn a pig’s ear into a silk purse. Although […]

The Cabinet manual not only forbids actual conflicts of interest when Ministers are performing public duties from which they or their family members and close […]

To the Russians, the current crisis in the Ukraine must seem like a no-brainer. Ukraine has always been treated as vital to Russia’s self-defence, and […]

Once again, the “Five Eyes” intelligence network (to which New Zealand belongs ) has been caught out in a privacy outrage. According to this morning’s […]

Ever since the existence of the Echelon spy system was revealed in the 1990s, the risk of using cyber-espionage for commercial gain and trading advantages […]

So Richard Prebble is back, as campaign manager for ACT at this year’s election. For a political organisation that prides itself on being a fount […]

If you were a harried supplier to a New Zealand supermarket, would you trust the Commerce Commission to protect you, your staff and your livelihood […]

Up until now, the feeling that rugby may be bad for your health has been pretty much limited to concerns about the sometimes cavalier attitude […]

Years ago, I asked a former US ambassador how he managed to navigate his way around rural and provincial New Zealand. Pretty easily, he replied: […]

So the Odd Future rap collective have had their visas revoked because – according to the Immigration Service – they pose a threat to public […]

Smears are the political equivalent of a hit and run. First comes the allegation that hints of skullduggery – Russel Norman and Winston Peters held […]

So Prime Minister John Key has removed the passports of a few would-be jihadis from New Zealand wishing to join rebel factions in Syria. In […]

On Wednesday, I reported on a local analysis of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, which argued, among other things, that the TPP is not […]

The fog of secrecy around the Trans Pacific Partnership has always triggered concern about what New Zealand may be willing to give away in these […]

Two weeks ago, I wrote a column about the involvement of Alastair Thompson, Scoop’s founding editor, with Kim Dotcom’s Internet Party. The errors of judgement […]

If Cameron Slater was a beached whale, the volunteers likely to show up to help him off the beach would almost certainly be limited to […]

In the world of thankless jobs, being the Leader of the Opposition is right up there. It involves being the eternal suitor – always trying […]

It may still be only January, but the first of the election year goodies has just been unveiled. Hard to argue with an extra $359 […]

Anyone who felt surprised by yesterday’s announcements about who National sees as being its compatible coalition partners after the last election would have to be […]

On Housing as an Election Issue According to a recent international study New Zealand is one of the least affordable places on Earth to own […]

Click for big version. One of the pitfalls of instant opinionating is the assumption that politicians know what they’re doing and that the job at […]

If Treasury ideologues had been around back in the day, we would still be waiting for the private sector to build a road and rail […]