Ryan Bridge: A clean up of cabinet is overdue

In February last year I wrote a piece for the Herald about government department and Ministerial overload.

It was partly informed by observation and partly by New Zealand Initiative paper on the subject.

David Hargreaves: December quarter inflation figures....

Statistics NZ's Selected Price Indexes show moderate price pressures over December, indicating few likely nasty surprises in next week's December quarter inflation figures

Food prices edged up 0.1% in December, following a 0.1% drop in November, according to Stats NZ.

Dr Guy Hatchard: The New Zealand Government is Failing to Come to Terms With Reality

The New Zealand Herald story, 12 September, entitled “Health Minister Shane Reti to reveal more about health targets as officials warn of manipulation”. Dr Shane Reti says he’s not concerned (???) but can’t guarantee his five targets for the health system won’t be gamed by under-pressure health staff as his Government strives for better healthcare services. Apparently, specific targets for timely healthcare responses put hospital staff under such pressure that they can be tempted to manipulate data to make things look as though they are improving.

Professor Jerry Coyne: Gods cause earthquakes....

The New Zealand government unites indigenous knowledge with “western science” by claiming that gods cause earthquakes

A comment by reader Chris Slater called my attention to this article from GeoNet, an organization described as providing “geological hazard information for Aotearoa New Zealand.” It’s also

Guy Hatchard: The New Zealand Government Reaches for Total Medical Control

For millions of years, humans and animals have maintained their health by eating the fruits of the earth.

The necessity and benefits of a broad natural diet are evident from Egyptian skeletal remains from 6000 years ago, which suggest scurvy—a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C. In 1753 a Scottish surgeon, James Lind demonstrated that scurvy could be treated with citrus fruit. The New Zealand government seems intent on changing history.