10 Gifts for Someone Who's Overly Invested in the New Zealand Election

Dirty Work

One Last Question, Prime Minister

The Valley

How to Save Democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand

New Zealand is a democracy: the people should be in charge. In this timely and provocative book, Sir Geoffrey Palmer draws on his experience as former Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Attorney-General to get people thinking about the state of New Zealand’s democracy. Palmer offers rare insights into the machinery of power and its vulnerabilities, and rather than surrendering to pessimism, he presents a roadmap for renewal. At a time when authoritarianism rises globally and the rule of law faces unprecedented threats, Palmer’s message is clear: ordinary citizens hold the key to democratic revitalisation through civic engagement and vigilance. This collection of thoughtful essays challenges readers to reclaim their role in governance. Palmer argues that regardless of which parties hold power, without public awareness and participation, democratic...

In the Room

Go Hard or Go Home

From the front bench to rock bottom: Go Hard or Go Home is Kiri Allan's fearless memoir of ambition, disruption and survival in NZ politics and beyond. Kiri Allan's six-year political career spanned some of the most challenging times in recent history. Events a government might encounter once in a generation stacked up: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, destructive and deadly weather events, a global pandemic . . . And as a highly recognisable figure, Kiri's overlapping personal story also played out under scrutiny: divorce, new parenthood, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and mental health struggles culminating in the car crash that led to her resignation. Go Hard or Go Home is the story of the person beyond the headlines, from church-going child to charismatic hitch-hiker to precocious law student to...

Facing Up to Our Future

New Zealand's traditional “she'll be right” optimism is no longer adequate to the challenges facing the country.  Facing Up to Our Future: Challenges and Choices for New Zealand brings together 21 of the country's leading thinkers to confront the long-term pressures shaping the nation's next decades. Edited by Emeritus Professor Peter Davis, the collection ranges widely, covering issues as diverse as climate change and the energy transition, demographics, the cost of living, housing and home ownership, health, environmental decline, fiscal sustainability, infrastructure, transparency and democracy, race relations and the Crown–Māori relationship, and the future of Pacific communities in Aotearoa. Its central argument is that these are not passing storms to be ridden out on the country's traditional “she'll be right” optimism, but decades-long structural challenges that no single government...

Parliamentary Privilege in Aotearoa New Zealand

Published ahead of the 2026 NZ General Election, this book by Sir Geoffrey Palmer invites public scrutiny of how Parliament wields its powers. Parliamentary privilege is 'the oil of the democratic machine'. It can be defined as the special legal powers that allow Parliament to regulate its affairs - and is a curious mix of history, parliamentary practice, law and politics. 'However, it is also viscous and volatile,' writes Palmer, 'and should not be left to sit too long without change.' This incisive book examines how parliamentary privilege operates in New Zealand, and where change is needed. Palmer traces its evolution and shows how reform has lagged behind that of comparable democracies such as Canada. With his characteristic clarity and frankness, Palmer calls for greater transparency, fairness and...

Uncomfortable Economics

New Zealand once ranked among the world’s most prosperous nations. Not any longer. Why has our economic performance lagged behind countries we once outpaced? And what will it take to reverse the decline? In Uncomfortable Economics, David Schnauer shows that New Zealand’s underperformance is not inevitable. It is the result of choices — cultural and political — that can be changed. Looking beyond election cycles and short-term fixes, he calls for a renewed national focus on savings, housing, public debt, productivity and long-term policy discipline. He challenges both politicians and citizens to lift their sights and demand more from our economy. Bold, readable and politically independent, Uncomfortable Economics is a call to action for anyone who cares about New Zealand’s future.

Te Tiriti, Equality and the Future of New Zealand Democracy

In this major work, the leading Māori political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan draws on theories of republicanism and the commonwealth to challenge understandings of Te Tiriti as a partnership between races, or between Māori people and the Crown. O’Sullivan also critiques the idea that Te Tiriti created one people, assimilating Māori into colonial ways of governing. Instead, he proposes a new politics where Māori self-determination and liberal democracy, rangatiratanga and kāwanatanga, complement one another to promote meaningful and culturally grounded political equality. O’Sullivan enables us to see a future for Aotearoa in which political authority and responsibility belong to everyone and should therefore work equally well for all; a country where Māori people, as much as anyone else, bring their tikanga to public life; and a society where the...