The Good Society is the home of my writing about how we can shape a better world together.
A detail from Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Renaissance fresco The Allegory of Good and Bad Government
Stuff: The right-wing recipe to cure climate change that is doomed to fail
Carbon pricing alone won’t get us to net zero by 2050.
Stuff: How do we fairly tax the rich?
A capital gains tax plus an inheritance tax might help rebalance the system.
Stuff: Labour's rearranging of the furniture does not amount to a vision
Restructuring, which can damage morale for years to come, is too often the port of call for this government.
Openness on company ownership: the government’s response
A more detailed look at the proposed register of true (“beneficial”) ownership of companies.
Stuff: Rich list donors are great for political parties but not for democracy
The flood of donations to ACT and National suggest the election contest may be unequal.
Stuff: Excess profits and lack of competition play role in inflation story
The government also needs to cushion cost-of-living impact on the poorest.
RNZ: Government makes inroads on poverty but what's left in its toolkit?
The stratospheric rise of poverty and inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic can be seen everywhere - except in the statistics.
Stuff: NZ's problem is it doesn't tax enough, or fairly enough
We'll never have great public services unless we tax higher earners more.
Guardian: NZ’s parliament protests were frightening but they don’t mean the country is splintering
Disagreement is a sign of healthy democratic debate not of dysfunction – and hard-core conspiracists remain marginal.
Child poverty keep keeps falling, confounding the commentators
But progress is stalling, and requires a re-start.