Looking at Te Tiriti through a political science lens offers us something valuable beyond the usual historical and legal interpretations. Let me be direct about what this means for our public management system. Te Tiriti isn’t just a historical document or legal framework – it’s a living diplomatic relationship between two sovereign nations. This isn’t…

Several readers have asked me to expand on agonism, a concept central to my doctoral work and my understanding of politics in Aotearoa New Zealand. Let me break this down in a way that shows why it matters for our public institutions and policy making. Agonism sits at the heart of how I understand the…

I wrote an opinion piece for e-tangata. It is based on a series of pre-and-post election briefings I provided a small number of clients. This particular opinion piece summarises my views on the coalition agreements, and the likely implementation risks the government will need to be actively managing if they are to have any sort…

Today, POLITIK provided us with an important reminder about retail politics. Retail politics is the shaking of hands, kissing babies, playing with goats and dressing up as Captain Cook. It directly sells a candidate to as many voters as possible. I’ve been thinking about it for two reasons. First, retail politics is very different from…

As we move into the last two weeks of the 2023 election, can someone facilitating the leader’s debates ask each leader whether they reject and repudiate political violence and whether they communicate to their supporters that violence is never, never, never okay? Political violence undermines our democracy. This is the real challenge to our so-called…

The term civil service was coined in 1785 to describe the non-military or civilian roles undertaken by the East India Company. For those of you who don’t know the history, the company was formed in 1600 to exploit East and Southeast Asia as well as India. The term was subsequently borrowed to mean all the…

Public institutions tend to reflect the society in which they are embedded. So it is for Aotearoa. Like it or not, in Aotearoa, our shared institutions reflect and will increasingly reflect Te Tiriti. Te Tiriti states the conditions under which Iwi, Hapū, Whānau, Whanui, Māori and the Crown agreed to cooperate in the development of…

Some people out and about demonstrating a little knowledge of regulatory systems is a dangerous thing. I am not a regulator, but I have prepared policy advice that had to be turned into regulatory policy and, eventually, rules. I also help design regulatory funding models; clients ask me to review them for fairness and equity….

I have been watching the co-governance and free speech debate. There seems to be an undercurrent that the state should focus on “equality” and not “equity”, and all public services – delivered by the state or by a third party – should be at the same or similar quality standard for every “New Zealander”. That…

I love this whakataukī. It reminds me that understanding comes from knowing and welcoming the difference between similar things and people. I have heard a lot of korero this week about our golden age of public management. Many commentators assumed the 1980s public management reforms are our high point. Sadly, those people are wrong. Let…

As we enter the heart of election year, I have been thinking about this whakatauki. The literal translation is that while the mokoroa is small, it is strong enough to eat through and fell the kahikatea tree. It’s a reminder that small things can have a significant impact, and it also encourages us to think…

As we enter the third year of examining our governance model’s evolution, the central hypothesis remains: Aotearoa-New Zealand’s Westminster-derived system continues to show significant signs of strain. While most indicators remain consistent with last year’s assessment, two notable shifts warrant attention. First, there’s a marked decline in the Cabinet’s narrative capability. Despite considerable activity and…

Unlike the original Westminister tradition, the Chinese Imperial Civil Service had a set of dress codes for officials: a way, so to speak, to distinguish the different classes and ranks within each class. Each rank had its own belts, hats and trim. The top rank had two stately cranes soaring above clouds, and the lowest…

A year ago, I posited that Aotearoa-New Zealand’s Westminster-derived governance model showed signs of systemic strain. The identified pressure points were numerous and significant: the transition to mixed-member-proportional representation, the expanded use of associate ministers and parliamentary undersecretaries, the integration of non-government ministers into the Cabinet, the frequent threats to cabinet solidarity by coalition partners,…

Mātai Tōrangapū, Hononga Tāwāhi | School of Political Science and International Relations at Canterbury University asked me to speak about the importance of the new Public Service Act 2022. The lecture is attached.

Aotearoa-New Zealand’s political and administrative landscape is undergoing a profound transformation that challenges its Westminster foundations. Multiple forces are driving this evolution: the complex dynamics of a post-colonial state, a hollowed-out public service increasingly reliant on non-state actors for delivery, and political parties struggling to attract high-calibre talent for senior positions. The strain on our…

I wrote to the Select Committee reviewing the Public Service Legislation Bill.

Today, you have 104 days or 2,496 hours before the pre-election period starts. And while it is critically important for the public service to remain politically neutral, it is crucial to start thinking about how to best support a new Government*. It is an exciting time and an extraordinary privilege to help a new Government…

I am often asked why I study public management. Most of the questions come from pakeha officials who don’t think public administration can be understood as an unreformed colonial construct, but also by global north academics who believe in the objective and agnostic role of the state. To them, I say: “Know the enemy and…