Are Rent Control Policies Challenging Assumptions and Encouraging Informed Debate?
Tom Baker, University of Auckland Photo by Maximillian Conacher on Unsplash The ink was barely dry on the Green Party’s recently unveiled “Pledge to Renters” – which included annual rent increase limits, a rental warrant of fitness and a national...
Does private healthcare harm more than it helps?
Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash Words by Elizabeth Fenton, University of Otago and Robin Gauld, University of Otago Ethicists argue that healthcare is special. Unlike other consumer goods, its availability and accessibility should be based on need rather...
Is Auckland Transport consulting itself into paralysis?
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash Words by Timothy Welch Asking everyone what they think of every transport micro-decision is an enormous waste of time and resources. It’s time to stop asking and start doing, argues Timothy Welch. Your transport agency would...
Are tobacco companies’ warnings about a black market misleading?
Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash Janet Hoek, University of Otago and Anna DeMello, University of Otago Tobacco companies claim to be transforming their business by “reducing the health impact” of their products. Yet they often oppose the very policies that could...
Are we doing enough? Ngā Ara Whetū’s reaction to the 6th IPCC report
Photo by NOAA on Unsplash Climate change is the “bread and butter” issue of our times, as spelled out in the latest synthesis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report. If we do not urgently address climate change, there will be much...
How can we address Covid anxiety?
By Mary Breheny Listening to other people’s stories is a powerful way to unite people, and instead of belittling anxieties as illogical, addressing fears with understanding can help us design responses which enable all people to experience security in uncertain...
Screen time: how much is too much?
By Samantha Marsh & Alex Muntz A healthy digital diet is different for different people. We need to learn to listen for what our body and brain are telling us. How much screen time is too much? It’s a question we all want the answer to. But it’s like...
Are the new smoking policies the answer for a smokefree New Zealand?
By Chris Bullen If implemented as planned, the new smokefree action plan could be the single most significant approach we take as a nation to reducing preventable death and disease and reducing health inequities, writes Chris Bullen. As a doctor, tobacco researcher...
Why are rapid COVID tests so expensive and hard to find?
By Lydia DePillis & Eric Umansky Months-long silences. Mysterious rejections. Here’s what’s behind the shortages of a critical tool for ending the pandemic. A few weeks ago, a ProPublica reporter decided to test his kids for COVID-19. They had the sniffles,...Subscribe by Email
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