In this section I list the items that I have written – mostly – for publication in the popular media. In each case I have sorted them according to the predominant “hat I wear”. Where my role on the Auckland District Health Board is leading, the item is listed under “Health Commentary”. Where I adopt a more academic approach informed by my association with the University of Auckland, the item is listed under “Policy Analysis”. And, finally, where the work is strongly related to my role as Chair of The Helen Clark Foundation, the item is listed under “Think-tank Perspective”. Articles in this section are displayed chronologically or can be viewed by category.
- Health Commentary (20)
- Other (9)
- Policy Analysis (42)
- Think-tank Perspective (24)
- Uncategorized (5)
- Women Leaders (2)
Articles in a chronological order
New Zealand is struggling on many fronts. Are we headed for failure?
13 October 2025, The Post Several recent developments suggest that New Zealand as an effective jurisdiction may be weakening. To stretch the argument, are there indications of state failure in our…
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Aotearoa New Zealand has come a long way
Letters to the Editor, New Zealand Herald, 2 October 2025 David Seymour and Parmjeet Parmar criticised the compulsory first-year course at the University of Auckland that had a Māori component and…
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The case for a four-year term – as part of a wider reform process
Published in The Post, 4 September 2025 The Justice Select Committee has passed a modified version of the proposal for a four-year term of parliament, and the concept of a referendum…
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Recent health decisions do not bode well for the future
Published in Newsroom, 7 August 2025 The Minister of Health Simeon Brown is clearly energetic in his approach to the health portfolio, but has arguably made several missteps, including his directive…
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80 years on, the realities of nuclear warfare can’t be forgotten
Published in The Post, 6 August 2025 On VE day – May 8 – we marked the 80th anniversary of the end of warfare in continental Europe, with New Zealanders recalling…
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Free speech concern in universities is a manufactured crisis
Published in The Post, 26 June 2025 The current push to mandate “free speech” policies in New Zealand universities in legislation currently being considered before Parliament’s Education and Workforce Select Committee…
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Reshaping health requires new ways of thinking – and operating
Published in The Post, 16 May 2025 Two recent announcements by the Minister of Health should prompt a serious discussion about the future shape of healthcare delivery in New Zealand: the…
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Anatomy of a health system failure
Published in The Post, 4 April 2025 While recent health headlines have featured the departures of personnel at the upper levels of Health New Zealand (HNZ), the publication at the time…
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Fonterra brands roadshow “bittersweet” for those who champion a move away from commodities
Published in The Post, 18 March 2025 The government has been announcing a series of initiatives which it see as likely to lift New Zealand’s game on economic growth, including: the…
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Is New Zealand venturing down the road of political upheaval?
The turmoil at the federal level in the United States is all too evident in our daily broadcasts. But is a smaller scale version of it unfolding in New Zealand? It’s…
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Don’t be afraid of what the social sciences can tell us about ourselves
Published in newsroom, 18 February 2025* There has been a “fluttering in the dovecotes” of academia. The Marsden panels for Humanities and the Social Sciences have been disbanded, and the remaining…
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Beyond Trump, some home truths – and helpful nuggets – from Davos 2025.
Published in The Post, 30 January 2025 The 55th. Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) took place last week in Davos, a modest Swiss ski resort not far from…
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Ten fixes for mainstreaming our tax system
New Zealand is an outlier on many aspects of its tax system. This post suggests ten ways in which we could bring our system into the OECD mainstream.
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Ten fixes for a sustainable health system
Published in The Post, 20 August 2024 Health has been in the headlines recently, for all the wrong reasons. It would be easy to shrug your shoulders and assume that it’s…
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Fonterra and the sustainability of the New Zealand economic model
Published in Newsroom, 10 June 2024 Fonterra has announced in the last week that it has decided to reduce its involvement in branded consumer products and concentrate on ingredients for the…
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Peter Davis NZ 