@josiepagani.bsky.social
We used to talk about the Davos set. We need a new name for the circuit of political figures, tech bros, media glamour hunters, artists, authors and billionaires that scratch each other’s backs: The Epstein Set. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
Epstein saga exposes the flaw in our meritocracy
OPINION: The cost of calling out entitlement is high, and the benefits for those who play along with it are great.
www.thepost.co.nz
February 6, 2026 at 6:47 PM
We used to talk about the Davos set. We need a new name for the circuit of political figures, tech bros, media glamour hunters, artists, authors and billionaires that scratch each other’s backs: The Epstein Set. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
“What if there’s a serious idea at the heart of populism: the return of economic class as a fault line”
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
How populism comes to NZ, minus the identity politics
OPINION: The faultline for a political realignment is little to do with ethnic nationalism and lots to do with our biggest weakness as a nation.
www.thepost.co.nz
January 23, 2026 at 11:26 PM
“What if there’s a serious idea at the heart of populism: the return of economic class as a fault line”
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
I’m giving round 1 to Willis for an audacious counterpunch. By calling out Richardson by name, and challenging her to a debate, she moved from defence to attack. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
Willis v Richardson: Enough of the fudging, it’s time for a proper debate
OPINION: Nicola Willis wants to force people to choose between her and her critics to her right. She thinks she can win because the Taxpayers’ Union are doing their own fudging.
www.thepost.co.nz
December 13, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I’m giving round 1 to Willis for an audacious counterpunch. By calling out Richardson by name, and challenging her to a debate, she moved from defence to attack. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
Dear Aunty Josie, Speaking of global superstars, Meghan and Harry were mocked for their “global privacy tour”. Is Dame Jacinda Ardern also on a global tour?
It’s the global “It’s Not About Me” tour.
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
It’s the global “It’s Not About Me” tour.
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
Dear Aunty: More advice for the news-afflicted
OPINION: Your agony aunty is back with words of wisdom for those struggling to make sense of it all
www.thepost.co.nz
November 29, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Dear Aunty Josie, Speaking of global superstars, Meghan and Harry were mocked for their “global privacy tour”. Is Dame Jacinda Ardern also on a global tour?
It’s the global “It’s Not About Me” tour.
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
It’s the global “It’s Not About Me” tour.
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3609...
You could mistake the fantastically named “Conference of the Parties” for a meeting of divorce lawyers. The shouting and pushing don’t help. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
The climate crisis needs realism, not miserabilism
OPINION: Despair about climate change signals intellectual respectability – like violins in a pop song.
www.thepost.co.nz
November 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
You could mistake the fantastically named “Conference of the Parties” for a meeting of divorce lawyers. The shouting and pushing don’t help. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
Some will be offended by our latest campaign. We make no apology. You should be offended. This is a deadly problem in our shared Pacific home - and it’s entirely preventable. www.facebook.com/share/p/17d1...
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November 6, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Some will be offended by our latest campaign. We make no apology. You should be offended. This is a deadly problem in our shared Pacific home - and it’s entirely preventable. www.facebook.com/share/p/17d1...
No one likes to pay tax. We don’t like income tax, GST on everything, paying rates to the council, and we don’t like new taxes. The real question isn’t, ‘Do you like’ capital gains taxes?’ It’s: How else do you want to pay for the services we need, and is it fair? www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
It’s the status quo, not a capital gains tax, that needs defending
OPINION: Capital gains tax is not a magic bullet. It’s a sensible tool in an economic armoury.
www.thepost.co.nz
October 31, 2025 at 11:54 PM
No one likes to pay tax. We don’t like income tax, GST on everything, paying rates to the council, and we don’t like new taxes. The real question isn’t, ‘Do you like’ capital gains taxes?’ It’s: How else do you want to pay for the services we need, and is it fair? www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
Jim Bolger and Helen Clark - ‘How different to the leadership of the past 15 years that has been about personal popularity, symbolism and vibes.’ www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
A leader who could see - and strive for - a different world
OPINION: JIm Bolger demanded respect and often an audience, right to the end. But he was no snob.
www.thepost.co.nz
October 17, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Jim Bolger and Helen Clark - ‘How different to the leadership of the past 15 years that has been about personal popularity, symbolism and vibes.’ www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
‘The west is already at war’ www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
The soundtrack has changed, but the drumbeat of war is back
OPINION: Like last night’s pizza, Cold War confrontation is back. This time with shooting.
www.thepost.co.nz
October 4, 2025 at 12:55 AM
‘The west is already at war’ www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
You don’t change the world by changing the words - what even is a ‘healing journey?’ www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
Changing the language we use doesn’t change the world we live in
OPINION: Air-shaped words reveal a false belief that changing vocabulary will change outcomes.
www.thepost.co.nz
September 20, 2025 at 4:33 AM
You don’t change the world by changing the words - what even is a ‘healing journey?’ www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
Reposted
decades of bothsidesism, decades of the end of history, "a pincer movement by the illiberal right and the illiberal left," whatever story you want to tell--the need is the same: we need to get our powerful to believe in liberalism as a fighting creed once again
September 6, 2025 at 7:49 PM
decades of bothsidesism, decades of the end of history, "a pincer movement by the illiberal right and the illiberal left," whatever story you want to tell--the need is the same: we need to get our powerful to believe in liberalism as a fighting creed once again
‘She’s ostensibly left with some pretty crotchety conservative opinions.’ That was the hosts of RNZ’s Mediawatch - talking about me, and it reminded me to write about what is meant by ‘left’. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
I don’t think they’re right about what it means to be left
OPINION: The point of the centre-left is to make choices in the interests of working-class people, says Josie Pagani.
www.thepost.co.nz
September 6, 2025 at 8:57 PM
‘She’s ostensibly left with some pretty crotchety conservative opinions.’ That was the hosts of RNZ’s Mediawatch - talking about me, and it reminded me to write about what is meant by ‘left’. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
“If you turn to the first slide; How would I beat myself?
Let us suggest an answer. Your opponents will remind voters that your Government promised to fix the economy, but spent its capital rearranging the order of te reo and English on passports.”
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Let us suggest an answer. Your opponents will remind voters that your Government promised to fix the economy, but spent its capital rearranging the order of te reo and English on passports.”
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
‘Public opinion is like concrete: malleable at first, then hard’
OPINION: The root cause of political instability is the failure of governments to deliver.
www.thepost.co.nz
August 22, 2025 at 10:03 PM
“If you turn to the first slide; How would I beat myself?
Let us suggest an answer. Your opponents will remind voters that your Government promised to fix the economy, but spent its capital rearranging the order of te reo and English on passports.”
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Let us suggest an answer. Your opponents will remind voters that your Government promised to fix the economy, but spent its capital rearranging the order of te reo and English on passports.”
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
“Trump has a pronoun problem,” quipped American economist Justin Wolfers. “He keeps saying he’s imposing tariffs on they/them. But they’re actually being paid by we/us.” www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Trump’s tariffs will hurt, but we’re not down yet
OPINION: Breaking our dependence on a few big export markets is urgent.
www.thepost.co.nz
August 9, 2025 at 1:49 AM
“Trump has a pronoun problem,” quipped American economist Justin Wolfers. “He keeps saying he’s imposing tariffs on they/them. But they’re actually being paid by we/us.” www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
The woke have never been that woke. My chat with @musaalgharbi.bsky.social www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
The problem with elites, and how cultural snobbery has hurt the left
OPINION: Lean away from culture wars, which are unpopular, not because people don’t care, but because they want elites to focus on bread-and-butter economic issues that worry them more.
www.thepost.co.nz
July 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The woke have never been that woke. My chat with @musaalgharbi.bsky.social www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Cultural elites have hurt the left www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
The problem with elites, and how cultural snobbery has hurt the left
OPINION: Lean away from culture wars, which are unpopular, not because people don’t care, but because they want elites to focus on bread-and-butter economic issues that worry them more.
www.thepost.co.nz
July 25, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Cultural elites have hurt the left www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
By 2028 1m of us will be over 65. Well, at least everyone will drive below the speed limit, pay our bills on time and keep the garden weeded. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
The politics of retirement and having a good cry
OPINION: Old age, a weak economy struggling to pay for it and politicians displaying their fragility. What connects these topics is vulnerability and the need for tough choices.
www.thepost.co.nz
July 11, 2025 at 10:21 PM
By 2028 1m of us will be over 65. Well, at least everyone will drive below the speed limit, pay our bills on time and keep the garden weeded. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
We’re in a post aid world www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Aid sector needs to avoid becoming a Blockbuster in a Netflix world
OPINION: The aid sector is on a burning platform right now. But the urgency to eradicate extreme poverty and make the world a safer place remains.
www.thepost.co.nz
June 27, 2025 at 9:23 PM
We’re in a post aid world www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
I’ll tell you how the war starts www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
We might want to stay out of trouble, but trouble will find us
OPINION: I’ll tell you how the war begins.The Russians build up a force on the border of a small Nato state, maybe Estonia or Finland, perhaps Lithuania. A hybrid campaign begins.
www.thepost.co.nz
June 13, 2025 at 9:51 PM
I’ll tell you how the war starts www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Our tourism industry is getting this stunning landscape to do all its work. We are packaging it in a low quality, exploitative, and disappointing tourist experience. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
The Post
www.thepost.co.nz
May 31, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Our tourism industry is getting this stunning landscape to do all its work. We are packaging it in a low quality, exploitative, and disappointing tourist experience. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Reposted
Good visual showing the churn of UK voters since last year’s General Election.
May 25, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Good visual showing the churn of UK voters since last year’s General Election.
Budget debate so far is boring & predictable - big v small gov, private v public. Elsewhere in the world, though not yet here, a new faultline is emerging: scarcity versus abundance. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
As a new political faultline emerges, our politicians need to catch up
OPINION: If Labour wants a muscular alternative to the Budget next week, they need a new script and ideas big enough to change the conversation.
www.thepost.co.nz
May 16, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Budget debate so far is boring & predictable - big v small gov, private v public. Elsewhere in the world, though not yet here, a new faultline is emerging: scarcity versus abundance. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
Once trust in politics is gone, it’s tough to get back, and tougher still to get popular support for changes that could help eg with inflation. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
Restoring politics as a broad church for the forgotten and neglected
OPINION: Our politics cater to those who opt in. They see those who have fallen off life’s train, but they don’t know what to do for them.
www.thepost.co.nz
May 3, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Once trust in politics is gone, it’s tough to get back, and tougher still to get popular support for changes that could help eg with inflation. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
I bet the anti-TPP parties in parliament are delighted that America has finally freed itself from the tyranny of being able to buy stuff from other countries. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
At last - Liberation from affordable goods and services
OPINION: What Trump wants is not a negotiation that benefits Americans. He wants a Royal Court that exists to service his power and the wealth of his oligarch sycophants.
www.thepost.co.nz
April 4, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I bet the anti-TPP parties in parliament are delighted that America has finally freed itself from the tyranny of being able to buy stuff from other countries. www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3606...
Reposted
March 26, 2025 at 11:27 AM