Organic protest, and reframing the mineral debate
Like many others, I was amazed at the turnout for the anti-mining protest in Auckland on Saturday. That 50,000 people would turn out for such an event is remarkable in itself — the NZRU’s financial...
View ArticleWhen irony leads to hypocrisy.
The uncontrolled oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has turned into what looks to be the US’s worst environmental disaster. 40 days into the spill the well is still spewing 19,000 barrels (79,000 gallons)...
View ArticleWho knew solving our economic problems was so easy?
Missed opportunity: $176.4 trillion = estimated value of water in Lake Taupo (Assuming 59 cubic kilometres of water at $2.99 per litre.) Well, this sort of reasoning is good enough for the NZ Herald,...
View ArticleBrief thoughts
No time for anything substantive, but here are a few thoughts, in no particular order: This ad for the Aussie Greens, made by Republic of Everyone for the ABC’s election campaign showThe Gruen Nation,...
View ArticleFighting like you mean to win
I had meant to write something substantive on the politics-of-not-playing-politics evident in all aspects of the Christchurch earthquake and its aftermath, but circumstances have conspired to prevent...
View ArticleCreaky building syndrome
Here’s a conspiracy theory. Building, demolition, waste/fill disposal and other resource consent regulations are being suspended in Canterbury following the recent earthquake. Indications are that...
View ArticleMost important event of the millennium so far
Astronomers have apparently discovered — for the first time — a planet which is both the correct size and the correct distance from its star to support life. And it’s only (all intended irony) 20 light...
View ArticleThe Big Wet
Having neglected my bloggerly duties these past six weeks (in fact, I’ve been neglecting all my duties which aren’t strictly in service of looking after my family and keeping my job), I had resolved to...
View ArticleStay classy, Atlases
VEXNEWS‘ headline, while verbose, really does nail it: GREEDY GERRY: Heartless Harvey fiddles at lavish Gold Coast party while Queensland drowns. That’s Gerry Harvey, of Harvey Norman; and John...
View Article‘Efficient’ pricing and social cohesion in disaster recovery
In my view, one of the more shameful episodes in the Canterbury earthquake was the call by some for retailers to implement so-called ‘efficient’ pricing of crucial goods such as water. Among these was...
View ArticlePublic Goods and Private Bads.
Much has been written about the difference between public goods and private goods, including issues of fungibility versus liquidity in the allocation of each (public goods are fungible rather than...
View ArticleOn Resistance to Climate Change Politics
Yesterday the Green Party released its Climate Tax Cut policy proposal comprising, mostly, a carbon tax offset by an income-tax-free threshold for individuals and a decrease in the company tax rate....
View ArticleMedia Link: Political Risk and Sustainable Enterprise.
I was invited by the nice folk at sustainnews.co.nz to contribute a short essay related to sustainable economics from my perspective as a geopolitical and strategic analysis consultant. The essay wound...
View ArticleI Wanna Be Dirty: James Shaw and Greens
I write this only partially tongue in cheek and my original title was going to be a reference to a Kermit the Frog song* A final piece of the puzzle fell into place this week with the announcement in...
View ArticlePolitics has made monsters of us all!
Its a rant, no denying it. I tried, I really tried. Firstly I ignored all the reports coming out of Dunedin in the wake of Winstonfest 2016 that it will turn into a cat fight between Ron Mark (long...
View ArticlePlumbing the Depths – Part I: Trading in the rose coloured glasses
This post came about due to a comment made about my previous post (here) being depressing, which was fair comment given that I had dropped a rather critical rant regarding the state of New Zealand...
View ArticleThe coming resource war.
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a...
View ArticleThinking of a post-pandemic future.
I was recently invited to participate in an international teleconference on post-pandemic futures. It has a NZ-centric focus but involved distinguished participants from overseas, including former high...
View ArticleOn seeing that jaguar.
I am not one to usually write about personal anecdotes but it seems this is the season for it. As of late I have been following the news about jaguar sightings in the area of Southern Arizona where I...
View ArticleWhen the levee breaks.
The Waitakere coastal settlement where I live will not be the same as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle. Although we were fortunate to not suffer deaths or major injuries, many properties have been...
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