Author Archive

Submit on the Unitary Plan now!

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, May 29th, 2013 - 11 comments

The draft unitary plan, while not perfect, is a key part of making Auckland the most livable city. The plan is a progressive document: we know urban sprawl hurts the poor and creates worse health, social and economic outcomes. Generation Zero have put together an easy quick feedback tool so that you can submit on […]

The wrong conversation

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, August 15th, 2012 - 78 comments

There has been a lot of discussion on the direction Labour  is heading and the direction it should go. There have been some very valuable contributions by Mike Smith, Rob Salmond, Jordan Carter and Josie Pagani. I don’t have much to add to this other than, I think, they are having the wrong conversation. There […]

Inter-generational theft

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, May 2nd, 2012 - 49 comments

Baby boomers strike again. In 1989, University fees for domestic students in New Zealand were  less than $300. Moreover, for many students, 90% of that cost was met by the government through a fees grant. NZUSA has a very good history of fees in New Zealand. But I just want to say thank you to the baby boomer generation. […]

I resign

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 pm, March 22nd, 2012 - 13 comments

I wish to tender my resignation as Chair of the Ports of Auckland Board. I took a profitable and efficient Port and lost it millions of dollars in contracts. I spent, inappropriately, substantial amounts of money on a public relations campaign against our staff that could have been spent reinvesting in the port or returning to Auckland Council. The financial position of the Port is in a dire decline. We wish

Why Labour is not shifting to the centre

Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, March 20th, 2012 - 55 comments

Surprising title given the discussion of here and elsewhere? Yeah, I know.

But I want to contribute two things to the discussion. First, Shearer’s speech did not signal a shift in policy to the centre. Second, Labour does not need to shift to the centre in policy.

On those that need to work harder

Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, March 15th, 2012 - 14 comments

Recently, an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal describing how CEOs around the world spend their time.  The article drew on data from a larger study, the Executive Time Use Project . This project relied on reports of time use by CEO’s personal assistants; making it more accurate. It came across my usual reading and I thought I might share some of the findings with you.