New Zealand’s MIQ system has been found ‘unreasonable’ yet still broadly justified. And just like the decisions that drove the COVID response, any apology will be more about politics than the law.
- Professor of Law, University of Waikato
Sanctions are clearly not deterring North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But alternative strategies have huge risks, too.
Small states have limited power to influence global events, but New Zealand can still up its game in an increasingly lawless and dangerous world.
Questions about illegal surveillance photography and powerful facial recognition technology suggest updating the police training manual and the Policing Act itself should be a priority.
Despite the rhetoric and condemnation from UN leaders gathered in New York, Russian plans to annex eastern parts of Ukraine cannot be stopped. What could happen next?
Major public media reform in New Zealand is coming at the same time as trust in government and media declines. The proposed new law needs to make political and editorial independence a top priority.
New Zealanders fighting in Ukraine are facing significant risks, with no official support from the government. The fighters’ motives may be noble but are they muddying the waters?
With heightened superpower tensions, war in Europe and new military alliances forming, New Zealand’s defence review must set the right course in a dangerous world.
Both Russia and Ukraine are signatories to the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war – how much it is being observed is another matter.
No one knows what Vladimir Putin’s peace terms for Ukraine might be, but the risk of war spreading means the West must propose its own.
History shows there is no magic bullet for solving gang crime. Only an evidence-based approach, coupled with mutually agreed targets and indicators, will start to achieve real change.
New Zealand – like Australia – must increase its overseas aid spending if it is serious about matching China’s ambitions in the South Pacific.
Ukraine is one of the world’s breadbaskets, but exports have been blockaded by Russia. Despite grave potential consequences in famine-prone countries, international law is largely silent.
The crisis in Ukraine, and the real risk of it spilling across borders, is precisely the kind of great power conflict the United Nations was formed to prevent.
The world’s failure to contain the nuclear threat is frighteningly evident in the potential risk of war in Ukraine spinning out of control.
With evidence mounting of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, what options beyond trade sanctions should New Zealand now consider?
New Zealand has more laws about respecting the flag than about protecting parliament and its grounds. The 23-day occupation in Wellington showed how much needs to change.
What can New Zealand do now to support Ukraine while avoiding unnecessary risk to its own citizens and interests?
The scope of a new law targeting sanctions at Russia will need to be clear on many critical issues, including military aid to Ukraine.
International law has been breaking down for over two decades, meaning New Zealand must find new ways to promote peace and security.
As the year ends, New Zealand has done well in important global measures of success. But closer to home, the numbers often told a different story.
A royal commission of inquiry would take the politics out of assessing New Zealand’s pandemic response – and help safeguard future generations.
Nearly a year ago, New Zealand’s intelligence services warned of the ‘realistic possibility’ of future COVID-related violent extremism. How concerned should people be now?
Court challenges over vaccine mandate exemptions have so far failed. But with fundamental human rights at the centre of the government’s emergency powers, is it time for purpose-built new law?
As protests against COVID restrictions increase, authorities should focus on de-escalating tense and volatile situations, and bringing those who break laws to justice after the event, not during it.
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