Wellington (Tuesday, 2 December 2025) - A new approach to director accountability could prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in tax debt from becoming unrecoverable by requiring directors to act early when financial distress emerges, according to a research note from The New Zealand Initiative. The research note, 'Responsibility before ruin: A pre-emptive fix for NZ's phoenix problem', addresses companies that accumulate large tax debts before dissolving, sometimes only to restart under a new name. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich spoke about the New Zealand Initiative's recent delegation trip to the Netherlands at a Dutch Business Association event, presenting the Initiative's report on how Dutch culture and pragmatism shape policy approaches. Dr Hartwich explained how the delegation's visit to Amsterdam's deregulation authority influenced the passing of New Zealand's regulatory standards bill, with Dutch officials describing the controversial legislation as "common sense". Read more

Wellington (Thursday, 13 November 2025) - A new report from The New Zealand Initiative says New Zealand can learn from Dutch pragmatism, competence and cooperation. Go Dutch: Learnings from The New Zealand Initiative's visit to the Netherlands follows the Initiative’s 2025 study tour of 42 business and civic leaders. Read more

In this episode, Oliver talks to Dr Prabani Wood about her research note "Better health through better data", which examines how New Zealand's fragmented health data systems prevent policymakers from knowing whether their decisions actually improve health outcomes. They discuss Dr Wood's recommendation for a Canadian-style primary care data network that would enable practitioners to improve their performance while giving policymakers the evidence they need to make better funding and policy decisions. Read more

In this episode, Oliver Hartwich talks to Nick Clark about his new report reviewing New Zealand’s MMP electoral system after 30 years. They examine quirks that have emerged over recent elections — from delayed results that stall coalition talks to by-elections creating extra seats, overhangs expanding Parliament beyond 120 MPs, and outdated election-day restrictions despite most people voting early. Read more