In assessing the effectiveness of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 threat it is important to distinguish between responsiveness and preparedness. The better the former, the greater the likelihood of glossing over weaknesses in the latter. New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has been extraordinary.  Compared with much of the rest of the world we have per capita very low death …

Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, University of South Australia and James Higham, University of Otago We are hearing increasing talk about a trans-Tasman “travel bubble”, which could see Australia and New Zealand open their borders to each other. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was a special guest at Australia’s national cabinet meeting on Tuesday, which discussed the possibility of setting up a …

Hongzhi Gao, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Monica Ren, Macquarie University When it comes to our economic over-reliance on China, New Zealand consumers need look no further than their most popular big box chain, The Warehouse. The familiar “big red shed” sourced about 60% of its home brand stock from China in 2017 – and a …