Articles from ‘elocal magazine’ in ‘Opinion’

By any realistic measure, New Zealand’s economy is no longer in the eye of the storm that buffeted households and businesses through 2021–2023. Inflation, interest rate spikes, and lockdown aftershudder have receded from the headlines. But according to the latest analysis released by Kiwibank — drawing directly on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s latest statements — the idea that “we’re through the worst” is only half-true. The pain of the…

Yesterday, as the Infrastructure Commission released New Zealand’s first-ever National Infrastructure Plan, the North Island was cleaning up from yet another extreme weather event. Roads blocked by slips and flooding. Power cut to homes. Stormwater and sewage systems overwhelmed. Commission chief executive Geoff Cooper acknowledged the grim backdrop, noting that the challenges of maintaining infrastructure in the face of natural hazards “sit at…

New Zealand’s politicians like to point to the existence of published ministerial diaries as evidence that our system is open and transparent. Ministers now routinely say that anyone can see who they’re meeting with, so there’s nothing much to worry about in terms of backroom influence. On paper, the diaries are supposed to be a window into the Beehive – a way for the public to track who gets face time with ministers and who doesn’t. In…

The political left doesn’t want to talk about it. But the most likely outcome of the 2026 general election is a government that includes New Zealand First. And that might even mean a government led by Prime Minister Winston Peters. This will be highly uncomfortable for many, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. So, if you wanted to place a strong bet about what happens after November 7, put your money on NZ First being part of the next…

The Government’s plan to build a billion-dollar liquefied natural gas import terminal in Taranaki is being sold as a masterstroke of energy security. But look past the government spin and what you actually find is a rushed, billion‑dollar infrastructure bet that sidesteps the Government’s own expert advice, locks New Zealand into fossil fuels for decades, and is being rammed through Parliament. The situation is this. This proposal has serious…

The New Zealand Government has quietly initiated a surprise review into the Reserve Bank’s controversial decision to underwrite approximately $55 billion in pandemic-era money-creation programmes during COVID-19. Caption: Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced an inquiry into RBNZ actions. Photo / Mark Mitchell · The inquiry is aimed at assessing the impact of the central bank’s Large-Scale Asset Purchasing (LSAP) and other measures on…

New Zealand’s slide down the global corruption rankings has become so predictable it barely causes a stir. Tonight, Transparency International released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, and New Zealand has dropped again: from 83 to 81, losing another two points and sinking to equal fourth alongside Norway. We are now eight points behind Denmark, which continues to sit comfortably at the top. Over the past four years, New Zealand has lost…

Every society claims its emergencies are exceptional. History shows the opposite: emergencies are the preferred pathway for expanding power, because fear collapses resistance faster than force ever could. New Zealand’s COVID response must be understood not only as a public-health event, but as a political precedent — one that future governments will study carefully. · The Old Rule: Emergency First, Accountability Later · Emergency powers…

The US Justice Department’s release of more than three million Epstein files (including 180,000 images and 2,000 videos) has blown the doors off the most protected social network of the late twentieth century. What these documents reveal is not just a catalogue of one man’s depravity. It is, as Helen Rumbelow wrote in The Times, like “taking the back off the world clock”, exposing how power actually works at the top of the Western world. And…

History teaches us that wars are not always fought with bombs, troops, or formal declarations. Some are waged quietly — through systems, policies, and narratives that reshape societies from within. So let us pose a hypothetical, not an accusation · If an adversary wanted to weaken Western democracies without firing a shot, what outcomes would signal success? · They might aim to: · normalise emergency rule, centralise decision-making beyond…