New Zealand’s housing crisis has causes everyone recognises – Resource Management Act restrictions, building consent delays, infrastructure that cannot keep pace with growth and building costs. All are real. Read more
The Government’s 2025 Defence Capability Plan commits $12 billion over four years, including $9 billion of new spending. But without institutional reform, new money risks being absorbed into a system too slow and fragmented to deliver modern capability, a new report from The New Zealand Initiative warns. Read more
In May 1935, as Winston Churchill later told the story, Pierre Laval travelled to Moscow to sound out Stalin about an alliance against Hitler. Late in the talks, the French foreign minister asked whether the Soviet leader might ease his persecution of Russian Catholics. Read more
The Reserve Bank keeps inflation in check, oversees the financial system, regulates banks and issues the country’s currency. These are important jobs, defined by Parliament. Read more
| GDP Quarterly Change: | 0.74% |
|---|---|
| Inflation: | 2.73% |
| Optimal OCR: | 2.00% |
| Optimal OCR Gap: | -0.50% |
| Forecasted OCR Change: | 0.00% |
