This week the price of a New Zealand Unit of carbon credit passed $50 for the first time. Ben Craven speaks to Matt Burgess about why this happened, and what the increase in price will mean for consumers, emitters, and New Zealand’s environmental commitments. Read more

Individualised Funding, or IF, is a funding model for disability support. IF gives money directly to individuals so they can hire their own support staff. Read more

Wellington (Friday, 27 August 2021): A new report by the New Zealand Initiative says personal budgets are a social services innovation that is creating new opportunities and changing how disabled Kiwis live. The report, titled The Power of Freedom: How personal budgets for social services are transforming lives, compares outcomes from traditional support services to the Individualised Funding (“IF”) model for disability support. Read more

Carl Hansen, the former Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority between 2010 and 2018, joins Matt Burgess to discuss what happened on the evening of 9 August when 35,000 homes lost power on the coldest night of the year. Carl explains how the blackout happened and the response to the event by the government. Read more

Eric Crampton and Matt Burgess discuss the thousands of homes hit by blackouts on the coldest night of the year and government’s response to it so far. Decisions should be made only after the facts are established. Read more

Matt Burgess talks to Oliver Hartwich about the government’s Natural and Built Environments bill, the first of three pieces of legislation to replace the RMA. The bill shows the government sees planning as an appropriate vehicle for everything from protecting the natural environment, to culture, growth and climate change. Read more