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 talked to Newstalk ZB on the corporate tax debt loophole that sees IRD writing off hundreds of millions of dollars annually due to the "Phoenix problem," where companies dissolve and reform under new names. Dr Hartwich highlighted Germany's solution, where directors face personal liability for tax debts if they fail to pay within 20 days or file for insolvency. Read more

In this episode, Oliver talks to James Kierstead and Damien Grant about James's departure from New Zealand after 12 years, reflecting on his journey from academia to policy research and his observations of New Zealand's cultural and political shifts since 2013. They discuss the challenges facing New Zealand universities, including grade inflation and administrative bloat, alongside broader themes of democracy, academic freedom, and the tension between New Zealand's liberal traditions and parochial tendencies. 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