This is the largest issue yet of Policy Quarterly, with six separate articles tackling a diverse range of important policy concerns, together with a response to a piece by Ann Brower in a previous issue. Leading this issue is an article by Professor Gary Hawke, who retired from Victoria University of Wellington at the end of 2007 after almost 40 years of service, most recently as Head of the School of Government. Based on a earlier speech, he reflects on some of the key policy issues that he and other members of the School have been grappling with in recent years and makes a strong plea for the School to give greater attention to Asia, including Asian modes of thinking.

Next, Maureen Baker explores, from a comparative perspective, the social policy implications of relationship breakdown in New Zealand, giving particular attention to the issues of child custody and support. She highlights how the complexity and seriousness of such issues has been exacerbated by high separation rates, growing maternal employment and increased migration flows – the last of which makes custody and the enforcement of child support arrangements all the more difficult.

Paul Callister tackles a very different but no less sensitive issue, namely whether and under what circumstances skin colour may matter. He also considers why New Zealand researchers and policy makers have been reluctant to address the issues surrounding skin colour and whether there is a case for using measures other than self-identified ethnicity (such as skin colour) in official statistics and other large surveys.

Geoff Rashbrooke addresses a set of issues in the area of retirement income, specifically the relative merits of draw down and annuitisation (i.e. whether retirees are better off drawing down their savings over a fixed period of time or purchasing an annuity, for instance from a life insurance company, where the provider guarantees to pay the retiree a regular amount for as long as the person is alive). From an efficiency perspective, Rashbrooke argues that annuitisation is preferable to draw down, but he concludes that without additional state intervention annuity products seem destined to remain unattractive.

Bernardine Vester, the recipient of the Holmes Prize in Public Policy in 2007, examines the relationship between local government and the education sector in New Zealand – a relationship that is much less well developed than in many other countries, notwithstanding the legislative responsibilities of local authorities to promote community ‘well-being’. As a way forward, she proposes the adoption of a ‘community governance framework’ and explores how, within such a framework, the relationship between schools, local government and the community might be advanced.

Responding to an article by Ann Brower’s in Policy Quarterly (Vol. 3, No. 4) on land reform in the high country of the South Island, Neil Quigley advances a very different approach to tenure review and property rights. These arguments, in turn, are challenged by Brower, in a brief response to his analysis. Whatever the relative merits of these opposing perspectives, the editors welcome debate of this kind and invite readers to share their views and responses to the articles we publish.

In the final article in this issue, I discuss the current global policy framework for addressing climate change and highlight the key decisions of the recent UN conference (COP13) in Bali – so-called ‘Bali roadmap’. While the outcome of the negotiations during 2008-09 to secure a new multilateral treaty for the period beyond 2012 remains uncertain, I argue that New Zealand has a strong interest in securing a robust and ambitious agreement, and needs to be active in finding solutions to the many complex issues requiring resolution.

Jonathan Boston, Co-Editor