On 14 May, the Government introduced an Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Amendment Bill to the House and held its first reading on the same day. It had such little regard for public consultation the deadline for submissions was set for 4 pm on Monday, 18 May – giving submitters only two full working days. Read more

The Covid-19 pandemic and economic lockdown means many countries are looking inwards. But global cooperation will be an important lever out of the economic and social consequences of the virus. Read more

The New Zealand Initiative supports government deficit spending during the Covid-19 crisis on the basis that it is funded by conventional borrowing. This report explains why funding deficits by central bank credit creation with no credible timetable for reversing the situation is a route to financial disaster. Read more

In deciding whether to extend the current lockdown, the government must balance the likely benefits of reduced sickness and deaths against the cost of lost national income and jobs. To do so systematically requires an analytical framework that organises the available information. Read more

If New Zealand can’t recover from the economic “heart attack” of self-imposed lockdown, it could face GDP losses at Great Depression levels, according to a New Zealand Initiative research note. While the Covid-19 pandemic has not ruined New Zealand’s economic capabilities, the lockdown has forced the country into an unprecedented productivity pause which the Initiative’s senior fellow Bryce Wilkinson says could slice away about $10,000 per household this year. Read more

Read our submission, written by Dr Bryce Wilkinson, to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on the Review of the Crown Minerals Act 1991. This submission addresses itself exclusively to the questions raised in chapter 1 of the Discussion Document about the role and purpose of the Crown Minerals Act (CMA). Read more

This submission is in response to the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) Discussion Paper, Designing a Fair Pay Agreements System. In making this submission, the authors have drawn on the research and recommendations in our July 2019 report, Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, and say despite the overwhelming evidence against FPAs, if the government nevertheless introduces a framework permitting FPAs, and if the FPAs are to have any legitimacy, they must: be introduced incrementally, targeting only industries where there is evidence of labour markets failing workers and employers. Read more