Derek Mackie: Don't judge a book by its library data system

Most of us would agree that New Zealand has lost its mojo over the past 6 years and is an unhappier and more divisive place. 

We struggle to make a single thing on time and to budget anymore, other than a coffee, and the nation seems to be a dreary shadow of its former self. The state of our roads and the ever-present roadworks and traffic cones are a depressing symbol of our productive and social malaise. 

 I’m hoping our new Coalition government will turn things around and, to be fair, it’s still early days. Indeed, there have been lots of encouraging announcements of cancelled, race-riddled Labour policies like Three Waters and the Maori Health Authority. 

However, the Coalition's much trumpeted new Fast Track Approvals Bill has astoundingly taken a leaf out of Labour’s book and given iwi guaranteed representation on the “expert panels”. 

What the hell’s that all about? It's not what we voted for, or what the Coalition agreements assured us would happen. 

So, let’s hope the Coalition doesn't follow Labour’s submissions policy as well, and disregards any that criticise this blatantly racist provision 

James Kierstead: A parallel universe

A few months ago, I stepped into a parallel universe. I was following up a routine administrative task and soon found myself outside a building I’d never seen before, after 10 years working at Victoria University. When I went inside there was an enormous open office filled with administrators.

When I first arrived at Vic, we had an administrator in the Classics Programme. She knew the academics, she knew the students, and she knew what I was supposed to be doing. About five years later, we were told our administrator would be gone, replaced by a whole pool of administrators at the school level.