Writing
This page collects some of the published writing I have done over the years.
It also includes a selection of unpublished academic articles I presented at conferences.
Should New Zealand have a Parliamentary Budget Office?
In 2011 and 2012 I worked on the establishment of Australia’s Parliamentary Budget Office. In this article published in the New Zealand Herald I explored whether such a model should be introduced in New Zealand.
The role of New Zealand Parliament in the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process
In this paper presented to the Australasian Political Studies Association Annual Conference, 24 September 2001, Parliament House, Brisbane I analyse the role of New Zealand Parliament and its select committee system in the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.
Paper presented to the Australasian Study of Parliament Group National Conference: 14-16 July 2000 Customs House and Queensland Parliament Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Also published in Australasian Parliamentary Review, Spring 2001, Vol. 16(2), 140–50.
What the Australian Senate can learn from NZ's House of Representatives
This paper, presented to the 1998 Australasian Political Studies Association conference in Christchurch, explores how the changes to the New Zealand Parliament’s Standing Orders made in preparation for the move to proportional representation could provide lessons for Australia.
Public Perceptions of the New Zealand Parliament
This paper was initially presented to the the Australasian Study of Parliament Group 1999 National Conference at the New South Wales Parliament. This was subsequently published in volume 14 of Legislative Studies (now rebranded as the Australasian Parliamentary Review) and republished in the NZ Parliament and Business Trust Information Bulletin 2000 edition 3.
Comparative legislative speed in the Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian (Federal) parliaments
This is a working paper first presented at the ICON-S conference in Madrid on 8 July 2024.
This paper begins by discussing the importance of legislative speed, examining its impact on deliberation and public engagement. The rationale for selecting Australia as a comparator for New Zealand is then explored, highlighting key similarities and differences between the two legislative systems. The analysis proceeds with a detailed examination of legislative speed in Australia, illustrated through recent examples. This is followed by an exploration of legislative speed in New Zealand, including an analysis of the time taken for bills to progress through various stages. The paper then delves into the explanations for the differences in legislative speed between the two countries, focusing on procedural conventions, public engagement expectations, and mechanisms for expediting legislation. The concluding section summarizes the findings, discusses their implications for legislative efficiency and public engagement, and suggests areas for further research.