Trump’s claim that globalisation did not benefit the West reads strangely from Aotearoa New Zealand. Our story is not one of civilisational decline or of nations sinking into a late Western mood. It is the story of a small country that undertook one of the most radical neoliberal transformations in the democratic world and then … Continue reading What the Blame Hides
Culture at the Top
November 2025’s police-misconduct news did not surprise me. It felt familiar, almost expected. Social media quickly pinned on whichever government last made the senior appointments. But policing in Aotearoa New Zealand has a longer story. And when top cops fail, the institution drifts slow, steady, and always downward. Decades of inquiries show this clearly. This … Continue reading Culture at the Top
The Slow Capture of Local Democracy
Lately, I have begun to see Wellington’s mayors through the city’s water pipes, which are nothing more than rusted veins that burst each summer, spilling not just water but the fatigue of a city that keeps repairing rather than renewing. The same pattern runs through its politics; promises patched over cracks, faith seeping away with … Continue reading The Slow Capture of Local Democracy
Faultline Report 