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Timothy Welch

Timothy Welch

The Conversation

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The government has boxed itself in over fuel saving strategies – but there is a way out

Promoting fuel saving measures as vital to energy security would help frame the oil shock as a technical problem to be solved, not a political issue...

08.04.2026 10

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Iran oil crisis: why NZ’s car dependence is now a strategic liability

New Zealand generates more than 85% of its electricity from renewable sources, but transport remains almost entirely chained to imported oil.

18.03.2026 30

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Higher speeds lower productivity: what the data shows crash delays really cost Auckland

The cost of ‘network disruption’ due to accidents is more than normal estimates suggest, casting doubt on the logic of raising speed limits to...

11.12.2025 10

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Auckland is NZ’s ‘primate city’ but its potential remains caged in by poor planning and vision

Other countries have learned to harness the economic and cultural energy of their super-cities, but New Zealand is held back by Auckland’s failure...

23.07.2025 20

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

NZ will soon have no real interisland rail-ferry link – why are we so bad at infrastructure planning?

The Cook Strait ferry fiasco is just another symptom of a wider malaise: an inability to deliver, on time and at cost, the infrastructure that keeps...

03.07.2025 10

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

NZ cities are getting hotter: FIve things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes

30.06.2025 10

Pearls and Irritations

Timothy Welch

NZ cities are getting hotter: 5 things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes

Converting open-air car parks and creating green cooling corridors on transport routes is an easy and affordable way to beat the city heat as the...

30.06.2025 20

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

Making it easier to build a granny flat makes sense – but it’s no solution to a housing crisis

Rule changes to allow larger granny flats follow a well-established pattern in New Zealand: modest reforms to address big and complicated problems.

06.06.2025 20

The Conversation

Timothy Welch

False economies: the evidence shows higher speed limits don’t make financial sense

Documents show the government is going against expert advice and strong economic evidence by insisting higher speed limits will improve productivity.

03.03.2025 20

The Conversation

Timothy Welch