Blog | Everything You Need to Know About Auckland Light Rail
An artist’s depiction of light rail in Mt Roskill [1]. By Samuel Hill After several years of talks about light rail coming to Auckland, the Government confirmed earlier this year that work will proceed on a partially-tunnelled light rail line extending from the CBD to Auckland Airport [1]. The project has been the subject of […]
Blog | The Black Gold: A Look Into New Zealand’s Fuel Resilience Among Shifting Global Winds.
By Raphaël Rauner As the Russo-Ukrainian conflict intensifies, the global geopolitical narrative is shifting. It impacts every actor on the world stage- from small to large. It also raises questions about New Zealand’s place in the world and our dependence on international partners. This article is not about foreign policy. It’s about New Zealand’s fuel […]
Blog | Firearm Protection Orders: A Silver Bullet for New Zealand’s Gun Violence?
By Maddison Lewis Gun violence has become a prominent issue in the public eye. In 2020, New Zealand saw a record-breaking level of gun violence, and Auckland saw a 49 percent increase in firearms-related injuries over a year and a half at the end of 2021 [1]. Against this background, the Justice Select Committee is […]
Blog | Do Planning Reforms Spell An End to the Housing Crisis?
Amendments to the Resource Management Act (RMA) promise up to 105,000 houses over eight years [1]. But are these changes going to help end New Zealand’s housing crisis? By Charlie Matthews The Changes Parliament has recently passed the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. The main aim of the changes is […]
Blog | Government Seeks to Repeal Three Strikes Law
The government is seeking to repeal the controversial three strikes law, which mandates maximum penalties for third-time violent offenders. The debate over the proposed repeal has raised claims that the three strikes framework disproportionately impacts Māori, that it is in breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, and that the sentencing law is […]
Blog | Inflation in Aotearoa: The Facts, The Roots, and Policy Responses.
By Matt Fletcher The complex realities of Covid-19 have had profound effects on economies across the globe – impacting consumers directly in their pockets. Disruptions to supply chains, shifts in consumer spending, and heightened government expenditure have culminated in decades-high inflation. These figures scarcely remain absent from headlines, from the United States witnessing annual inflation […]
Blog | A Game Between the Haves and the Have-nots: A look into legal aid
Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann has said the legal aid system is “broken” and on the brink of “collapse” (Hancock, 2021). Have successive governments driven the system into crisis as CJ Winkelmann alludes? Is the system now a game between the haves and the have not? This article will take a closer look at the current […]
Trans-Tasman Bubble: A Bubble Worth Popping?
COVID-19 is one of the most defining issues in recent history. What seemed like a distant problem that propped up in Wuhan, China, in 2019, quickly transformed the world – locking down countries, economies, and borders.
Understanding the Public Sector Wage Freeze
By Cole Reyno On 4 May, the Labour Government announced a three-year extension to the public sector pay freeze. This freezes the wages of public sector workers earning over $100,000 per year, and most earning over $60,000 per year except in “exceptional circumstances”.[1] This policy will largely impact those workers described as Labour’s traditional voter […]
Shift in Foreign Policy: New Zealand, Five Eyes, China and the Uyghur:
By Sara Khatau New Zealand, though a small country, has gained a big reputation for being a moral superpower. In the aftermath of the March 15th terror attacks, the world celebrated New Zealand’s strong rejection of Islamophobia. New Zealand recently signalled a desire to assert its brand of value-based politics at the Christchurch call. However, […]