We often want governments to fix everything because we collectively aren't up to fixing it ourselves.
On the social media ban for teens, Australia was the pioneer. A chunk of the world followed but Australia, to a degree, was hailed a hero, and yet Albanese has exploded with frustration a few short months after introducing their laws because they don’t work.
Here's the twofold problem:
1) The customer base, i.e. the kids, don’t like the ban and work hard to get around it.
2) The tech companies don’t like the ban and work hard to get around it.
Parents who should have done most of the heavy lifting hoped a government would save the day. They haven't, nor will they.
Then you come to the supermarkets, a problem of much interest here. They have, as of July 1st, a new price gouging tool – the first country in the world to bring in a ban for price gouging.
You will officially not be allowed to price gouge. Obvious question: what is price gouging and who decides?
Funny story, they haven't quite worked that bit out yet, despite the fact July 1st is around the corner.
So you can pretty much bet that in a few months' time you will see the return of a frustrated Albanese, once again having been foiled by the big players who will continue to argue forever just what is meant by price gouging.
Which is not of course to say the broad idea behind these rules is a bad thing.
But it is, to very simply point out, that governments who think they can control everything, can't.
People who rely on governments to control everything will forever be disappointed.
In tech's case, they are global and too big to be contained. Ask the Europeans who must have fined them trillions by now to no great effect.
In the supermarket's case, pricing on goods by the tens of thousands is so varied and so complex, no one-stop-shop of government rules and regulations is ever going to give everyone what they want all the time.
As for New Zealand we have really done little, if anything, about either of these problems.
And you might argue that's the smart move, given those who think they control it all actually control very little.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
2) The tech companies don’t like the ban and work hard to get around it.
Parents who should have done most of the heavy lifting hoped a government would save the day. They haven't, nor will they.
Then you come to the supermarkets, a problem of much interest here. They have, as of July 1st, a new price gouging tool – the first country in the world to bring in a ban for price gouging.
You will officially not be allowed to price gouge. Obvious question: what is price gouging and who decides?
Funny story, they haven't quite worked that bit out yet, despite the fact July 1st is around the corner.
So you can pretty much bet that in a few months' time you will see the return of a frustrated Albanese, once again having been foiled by the big players who will continue to argue forever just what is meant by price gouging.
Which is not of course to say the broad idea behind these rules is a bad thing.
But it is, to very simply point out, that governments who think they can control everything, can't.
People who rely on governments to control everything will forever be disappointed.
In tech's case, they are global and too big to be contained. Ask the Europeans who must have fined them trillions by now to no great effect.
In the supermarket's case, pricing on goods by the tens of thousands is so varied and so complex, no one-stop-shop of government rules and regulations is ever going to give everyone what they want all the time.
As for New Zealand we have really done little, if anything, about either of these problems.
And you might argue that's the smart move, given those who think they control it all actually control very little.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
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