Nick is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, focusing on local government, resource management, and economic policy.
Nick brings 30 years of policy and advocacy experience both inside and outside government. He joins us after 19 years at Federated Farmers, as the National Policy Manager. Nick managed a team of policy advisors, and led work on economic policy, including fiscal, tax, monetary, banking, competition, and overseas investment policies.
He also worked extensively on local government policy issues and has been the administrator of the Local Government Business Forum, a grouping of national business organisations interested in local government policy issues.
When council rates rise at five times the rate of inflation, while water pipes burst and potholes multiply, something has gone very wrong. Council rates jumped 12% last year, the steepest increase in decades, and will on average increase 9% this year. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Local Government (Systems Improvements) Amendment Bill (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative). Read more
New Zealand ratepayers are being mugged by reality. After a 12 percent rates increase last year, dozens of councils are imposing another round of double-digit hikes. Read more
Woolly-headed regulations about farm kids feeding small animals, collecting eggs, and watering plants are up for review, but not before two months of chewing the cud. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is holding a targeted consultation on agricultural health and safety, including whether little Johnny can safely help Mum with light chores on the farm. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 This submission responds to the Ministry for the Environment's public consultation on proposed changes to National Policy Statements (NPSs) and National Environmental Standards (NESs) under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY CONCLUSION 1.1 This submission on the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2025 is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
After decades of planning gridlock, the government has promised to put property rights at the heart of New Zealand’s resource management system. But will its latest reforms deliver lasting change or just patch up the mess we already have? Read more
The government's latest Resource Management Act (RMA) consultation promises improvements to a broken system. The proposals for new national directions for infrastructure, the primary sector, and freshwater raise a critical question: are they preparing the ground for a property-rights-based resource management system or merely tinkering at the edges? Read more
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Public Finance Amendment Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
Future historians may seek to understand why early 21st century New Zealand struggled to get value from its infrastructure spending. They will need to look no further than Auckland's achievement in speed bump construction and subsequent destruction. Read more
A peculiar economic paradox appears to govern infrastructure development in modern New Zealand: the more we spend on infrastructure, the less we seem to get for it. This uncomfortable reality was a key takeaway from last week’s launch of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s Draft National Infrastructure Plan. Read more
What happens when elected officials cannot understand the issues well enough to make good decisions? Local councillors often receive hundreds of pages of complex reports just days before critical votes, covering financial modelling, engineering specifications and legal implications. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 This submission on the Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Bill[1] is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 12 June 2025) - Picture this: a part-time councillor rushes home from their day job, grabs dinner, then sits down to wade through 600 pages of technical reports two days before a crucial council meeting. Sound familiar? Read more
Picture this scenario: It is a Friday afternoon. A councillor receives a 600-page agenda for Tuesday's meeting. Read more