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Ian Lowe, Griffith University Documentary maker Michael Moore’s latest offering, Planet of the Humans, rightly argues that infinite growth on a finite planet is “suicide”. But the film’s bogus claims threaten to overshadow that message. Planet of the Humans is directed and narrated by longtime Moore collaborator Jeff Gibbs. It makes particularly contentious claims about solar, wind and biomass (organic …

Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington With New Zealand’s May 14 budget expected to chart the way out of the economic crisis, Finance Minister Grant Robertson should be looking to the past as well as the future. Finance ministers elsewhere are facing similar decisions, many even more constrained than New Zealand’s. But the common claim that …

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no such thing as business as usual. To find out how businesses on the ground in Asia are working in a new environment, last week, the Asia New Zealand Foundation surveyed more than 100 of its business stakeholders across Asia, from Cambodia to South Korea. In this quick snapshot, entrepreneurs and business people gave their …

Phil Goff speaks with Tim McCready about the impact of Covid-19 on Auckland’s infrastructure plans.   In February this year, Auckland Council was focused on the challenges ahead of a city enjoying relentless growth: building transport infrastructure to relieve traffic congestion, coping with the highest ever level of building consents, and dealing with environmental issues including water quality and climate …

Dave Heatley, Principal Advisor, Productivity Commission   “Shut the borders” is a natural first reaction to an external threat. It makes a lot of sense in the early stages of a pandemic, when those arriving at the border are more likely to be infected than those within the country. But what if that’s no longer the situation? After a country …

Sabrina Seeler, Nord University and Michael Lueck, Auckland University of Technology Until a trans-Tasman travel bubble is established, there is little doubt the New Zealand tourism industry will rely entirely on domestic travel post-COVID-19. Without underplaying the impact the pandemic will have on discretionary spending in both countries, however, there may be a silver lining to the crisis. New Zealand …

Social cohesion is critical to our recovery. He Oranga Hou: Social cohesion in a post-COVID world is the second discussion paper in the Koi Tū: The Future is Now Conversation Series. Written by Prof Paul Spoonley, Sir Peter Gluckman, Anne Bardsley, Prof Tracey McIntosh, Rangimarie Hunia, Sarb Johal and Prof Richie Poulton, it examines our collective unity – rarely seen …

In their new paper ‘In a new world, new thinking is required’, Hon Sir Roger Douglas and Professor Robert MacCulloch argue the prioritisation of resources is crucial to New Zealand’s economic recovery in the wake of Covid-19. They argue that New Zealand can either “muddle through as we are – relying on policies that haven’t worked since the 1950s and …

Neil Warren, UNSW and Richard Highfield, UNSW Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr famously observed in 1927 that “taxes are what we pay for civilised society, including the chance to insure”. Whilst tax as a price for civilised society is well understood, less appreciated is the second part of his observation – that tax provides a chance to insure against a crisis. …

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra After the COVID crisis, what will be the “new normal” in Australia’s relations with China? The short answer is, probably both worse and more complicated than pre-COVID. This week has seen a fresh low point, with the Chinese government threatening economic retribution in response to the Morrison government’s call for an independent international inquiry into …